Microsoft to Buy TV Ad Placement Company
Microsoft said late Tuesday that it has bought Navic Networks, a company that helps television advertisers manage their ad campaigns.
Navic Networks, based in Waltham, Massachusetts, will become a subsidiary of Microsoft’s growing Advertiser and Publisher Solutions Group, which is also focused on targeted Internet advertising. Microsoft did not disclose terms of the deal.
The acquisition is a logical extension for Microsoft, which already offers a platform for cable service providers to deliver TV programs over IP (Internet protocol) networks through its Mediaroom software.
Navic’s technologies include campaign management tools to place targeted ads on TV and through Admira provide a unified ad network for targeting audiences across TV ad inventory. Microsoft hopes to build an online service that allows ads to be placed across all platforms, and this acquisition fits into it. Navic has worked with Time Warner Cable, Cox and Charter, among others. It had raised about $43 million in funding from the likes of Pilot House Ventures Group, Pequot Private Equity, Highland Capital Partners and Himalaya Capital.
“Television media represents the largest percentage of advertisers and agencies’ media budget today,” Microsoft Senior Vice President Brian McAndrews said in a statement. “Together, Navic and Microsoft will deliver addressable television advertising solutions to help our partners better manage media spend by increasing advertiser reach and ROI, and maximizing publisher yield on television advertising.”
Source: Cnet news
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