Deutsche Telekom ad alliance with Equativ
April 23, 2024
Deutsche Telekom, majority owner of T-Mobile, has announced a partnership with Equativ for targetable TV advertising through programmatic marketing in Germany.
The alliance aims to empower advertisers to minimise unnecessary expenditures while airing their commercials, and at the same time connecting with consumers in meaningful and captivating environments, effectively capturing audience interest and increasing customer engagement.
This strategy not only maximises advertising efficiency but also enriches the overall customer journey by delivering pertinent messages precisely. For Deutsche Telekom, advertising is one of the strategic business areas outside its core business in which it wants to grow in Germany. MagentaTV, its streaming service, will enable addressable TV on devices from mid-2024.
Together with Equativ, the independent ad tech platform, MagentaTV will advance programmatic, ad server-based TV advertising in Germany. As a first step, Equativ’s subsidiary Nowtilus, the Server-Side Ad Insertion Platform, will enable major TV broadcasters to market their own inventory programmatically and in a targeted manner on MagentaTV. The Serverside.ai solution enables Deutsche Telekom audience-based replacement of TV advertising in the MagentaTV offering. The Equativ and Deutsche Telekom teams are implementing ways to monetise quality inventory in linear TV, FAST, and live sports. Additionally, Equativ’s ad serving expertise will be used for Deutsche Telekom’s own inventories, such as MagentaSport.
To further expand this business in Germany, Deutsche Telekom has engaged its corporate venture unit T.Capital in the initiative as well as Equativ’s majority shareholder, private equity firm Bridgepoint, to help maximise the strategic value for all stakeholders involved.
Dr. Jörg Richartz, Vice President Sales & Marketing TV at Deutsche Telekom, commented: “Addressable TV is a growth driver for MagentaTV outside our core business. Through our Magenta Ad Solutions, we will enable major broadcaster groups, such as RTL Deutschland and P7S1, to target their advertising customers’ TV spots on MagentaTV in such a way that they reach their target groups in the best possible way. Our partner Nowtilus is a central component in our technical infrastructure for addressable TV. The fact that we are now underpinning our commitment with a strategic investment in the parent company shows how convinced we are of their solutions. In the future, we would like to further intensify our relationship with Equativ. For our own offerings such as MagentaSport or the planned FAST channels on MagentaTV, we are currently examining how we can integrate and use their digital product range even more.”
“We’re thrilled to announce our partnership with Deutsche Telekom and MagentaTV, revolutionising programmatic TV advertising in Europe, especially in Germany. Leveraging our full CTV suite, we empower major TV broadcasters to market their inventory programmatically on MagentaTV,” commented Arnaud Créput, CEO at Equativ. “Committed to further innovation, this partnership opens up exciting opportunities for enhancing market-leading advertising and customer engagement products, to better support Deutsche Telekom as an advertiser through curated programmatic direct buying solutions. Additionally, it will reinforce our shared dedication to Utiq, positioning it as the premier privacy-safe advertising ID backbone in Europe. With Deutsche Telekom’s T.Capital and Bridgepoint on board, we’re poised to maximise strategic value, reinforcing our growth trajectory and unwavering commitment to the video and connected TV space.”
Jean-Baptiste Salvin, Partner at Bridgepoint, added: “With several investments in the Martech and Adtech industries, including MiQ and Equativ, Bridgepoint has demonstrated its strong interest and capacity to back the most innovative and successful operators in the digital programmatic ecosystem. We are delighted to welcome the investment of Deutsche Telekom within Equativ to develop together the future of Addressable TV.”
Alexander Helmke, Managing Director of T.Capital, concluded: “We are convinced that Equativ, as an independent and innovative provider of digital advertising solutions, is continuously strengthening its competitive position through technological expansion and targeted acquisitions. In addition, the company has a highly competent management team that has made product development and quality its core task. We see great potential both in the company itself and in MagentaTV’s cooperation with Equativ. We are therefore pleased to support the partnership with a strategic investment.”