AOL is beefing up its ad tech capabilities further with the acquisition of video ad network and exchange operator Adap.tv. The move follows AOL’s recent attempts to reposition itself in the market at as a leading ad tech provider and a challenger to Google’s “stack” of ad buying and selling technologies.
According to the company’s earnings, which it also released today, third-party network revenue was one of the fastest growing areas of AOL’s business last year. Overall ad revenue rose 6.9 percent, but network revenue growth outpaced it at 8.9 percent. AOL hopes the addition of Adap.tv will add to that growth.
AOL has doubled down on ad tech in the past few months. It hired former Razorfish CEO Bob Lord to head up its Networks division, which houses its ad tech assets, in July.
CEO Tim Armstrong also told reporters a couple of weeks ago that the company has been investing heavily in its technology products, and that acquisitions were likely. He also said the company plans to start selling access to its programmatic buying tools in something akin to an TV upfront.
It remains to be seen if marketers will ever buy services from it in that manner, but it’s clear that AOL now wants to be seen as a major ad technology contender. It’s an area in which it’s historically failed to impress despite some high profile acquisitions.
More to follow.
More in Media
SPUR publishes AI content tracking standard, pitches OpenAI and Google to join advisory board
Publishers are pushing for AI transparency with a new SPUR standard to track how AI tools use content, and inviting frontier AI labs to help.
Media Briefing: Publishers are turning GEO from an experiment into a business
Publishers are turning GEO into a new revenue stream as clients increasingly look to boost their brands’ visibility in AI-generated answers.
The creator economy’s stance on AI is shifting — again
Creators are integrating AI tools into their workflows, but at what point does it overtake the creative process and result in sameness?