Sky is extending its AdSmart technology to make addressable television advertising available across the Sky and Virgin TV footprint from the start of July. It will give advertisers access to 30 million targetable television viewers in the United Kingdom, across around 13 million homes. Sky is also working with NBCUniversal, part of its Comcast parent group, to combine AdsSmart with its Audience Studio to create an international offering.

AdSmart enables different adverts to be shown to households watching the same programme. This gives advertisers and brands the ability to tailor their campaigns to specific audiences and locations.

The Sky partnership with Virgin Media covers both targeted linear channels and video on demand television advertising.

It will use the Sky AdSmart system, together with technology developed by Liberty Global, the parent company of Virgin Media.

Sky Media will be the exclusive advertising sales agent across the entire AdSmart network in the United Kingdom.

Virgin Media will also offer AdSmart on its Virgin Media One free-to-air television service in the Republic of Ireland, with trials starting from the fourth quarter of 2019.

Sky has also announced the expansion of AdSmart as a global offering, combining with the capabilities of NBCUniversal and its Audience Studio system. Sky and NBCUniversal are both owned by Comcast, the largest cable company in the United States, with 20.96 million television customers. Sky has 23.60 million customers in Europe, although not all of these receive television services.

“Over the years, Sky has built a suite of advanced advertising tools, and we’re excited to share them with international marketers in the United States.” said Andrew Griffith, the group chief operating officer of Sky. “Together with NBCUniversal we’re launching a global product unlike anything the market has seen before, that combines the quality and reach of TV with best-in-class addressability.”

“The world is getting smaller, and the opportunity for international marketers to make an impact with consumers is getting bigger. The industry has demanded a global premium video offering, and now, one will finally exist,” said Linda Yaccarino, the chairman of advertising and partnerships at NBCUniversal.

Their combined capabilities will enable advertisers to optimise their spend and target precise consumer segments, both through set-top boxes and online services.

NBCUniversal is also piloting intelligent contextual media planning to align brand messaging with relevant scenes across national programming to enhanced advertising effectiveness and provide a more coherent viewing experience.

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