ITV, Channel 4, and Sky, in collaboration with Comcast Advertising, are planning to launch an advertising marketplace that will allow easy access to online video advertising through a single campaign. For the first time, it will bring together addressable inventory from all three sales houses into a single marketplace.

Small to medium sized business will be able purchase advertising with biddable pricing to run in a single campaign across services sold through ITV Media, Channel 4 Sales, and Sky Media.

Together, these three sales houses control the majority of television advertising in the United Kingdom.

A simple interface will enable brands that are new to television to access the scale, trust, and creative power of television advertising, in a bid to compete with other forms of online advertising.

There is a commitment to providing clear metrics and reliable results, addressing the concern of a lack of transparency around some other forms of online advertising.

Providing simplified access across the three portfolios will make addressable TV inventory accessible for businesses that are used to buying their own media in social and digital environments.

The marketplace is set to launch in 2026 and will be powered by the Universal Ads platform from Comcast, which owns Sky, and FreeWheel, its advertising media and technology company.

The sales houses are also in discussions to simplify the purchase of addressable advertising by media agencies. This includes the possibility of a joint solution for agencies, based on the ITV Planet V system.

Kelly Williams, the managing director for commercial at ITV, said: “As a TV industry, it is important that we collaborate to make television easy to plan, buy and measure for our established customers as well as the huge potential of new to TV brands. Both of these initiatives, this new marketplace for SME’s and Planet V for agencies, represent a very exciting future.”

Rak Patel, chief commercial officer of Channel 4, said: “This marketplace underlines what sets TV apart from all other media: its ability to collaborate at scale. By uniting the power of Channel 4, ITV and Sky through a single marketplace, we’re creating a new home for premium video while accelerating our Fast Forward strategy to become the first public service streamer.”

Priya Dogra, the chief advertising officer at Sky, said: “In today’s fast-evolving media landscape, we strongly believe success will require collaboration, simplification, and innovation.”

www.itvmemedia.co.uk
www.4sales.com
www.skymedia.co.uk
www.comcastadvertising.com