• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, August 3, 2023

In another instance of rivals cooperating to meet industry demands for interoperability, a new technical integration will allow publishers using the ad server of Comcast-owned ad-tech platform FreeWheel to see and monetize demand for inventory in the Magnite sell-side platform (SSP).

FreeWheel server clients will have access to advertiser information in bid requests, including brand name, bid price, category and creative, via Magnite to help inform ad placement decisions.

FreeWheel, as well as Magnite, has its own SSPs, and the two companies compete for TV operator business. But some publishers use one company’s server and another’s SSP.

The ability to manage bid requests from Magnite, along with other programmatic and direct deal sources, in a single platform will result in enhanced unified decisioning capabilities including ad creative, frequency capping and management across systems and sales execution types, which will in turn enable inventory yield maximization for publishers, according to the companies.

Benefits for advertisers will include better alignment to media goals and adherence to business rules, they said. 

“Efforts to drive interoperability and unify decisioning across demand sources are key to helping media companies manage inventory and optimize advertising solutions in an increasingly complex TV ecosystem,” Jill Steinhauser, senior vice president, ad sales planning and operations at Warner Bros. Discovery, noted in the release. WBD is among the companies piloting the integration.