Digital publishers pool video ad space to better compete against major platforms

Sahil Patel of the Wall Street Journal reports on how three prominent digital publishers are pooling their video ad space in an effort to better compete against Alphabet Inc. -owned YouTube, other digital platforms and TV networks.

BuzzFeed Inc., Group Nine Media Inc. and Insider Inc. are creating an ad sales alliance to sell video advertising across all three companies’ websites, apps and YouTube channels, the companies said.

The group is also in conversations with Discovery Inc., a major investor in Group Nine, as well as other media companies about joining the group, according to executives at BuzzFeed and Group Nine Media. A Discovery representative confirmed the talks.

The companies said they expect the alliance to help them land larger ad deals. “For all of us to get together in a room like this, we’re not going to do a deal that we could have normally gotten on our own,” said Ken Blom, senior vice president of ad strategy and partnerships for BuzzFeed.

Publisher ad alliances aren’t new, reports Patel.

In the U.K., the Guardian, the Telegraph and News U.K. banded together last year to form the Ozone Project, which sells ad space across their sites. News U.K. and The Wall Street Journal share a common owner.

“Everyone is trying to compete with platforms; this helps, even though they are not going to be as big as the platforms,”said Catherine Sullivan, chief investment officer at Omnicom Media Group North America.