DirecTV buys into TV Everywhere supplier
January 31, 2013
DirecTV says it is evolving its DirecTV Everywhere service, with a new digital video ad insertion solution developed in partnership with FreeWheel, a video advertising technology provider, in which it has now bought a stake.
DirecTV says the equity position in FreeWheel will enable DirecTV to have insight into the product roadmap and industry evolution, as well as develop deeper relationships with industry leaders and key partners.
Through the new partnership, DirecTV is investing in a core component of the TV everywhere ecosystem, creating a new revenue stream for the platform, which allows customers to access the most popular TV shows and movies anytime, anywhere and on any device.
DirecTV, its programming partners and advertisers will now be able to reach customers through the big screen and on mobile devices to create a sustainable advertising model on digital platforms. FreeWheel, which helps companies profitably manage advertising and operations across multiple devices, will play a key role in DirecTV’s design and implementation of their digital ad insertion service scheduled to launch later this year.
“We are constantly looking for new ways to grow our DirecTV Everywhere platform with the best and most recent content available from top programmers,” said Tony Goncalves, senior vice president, Digital Entertainment Products, DirecTV. “Being able to offer our programming partners seamless digital advertising will help us secure top content and provide our customers with the most robust ‘everywhere’ product available. FreeWheel is a leader in the industry with an expert management team and is widely used by many programmers, making it a perfect match for DirecTV.”