NBC Universal and Comcast Corp. have given their $1.4 billion in media buying business to GroupM’s Maxus and Publicis Groupe’s SMG.
GroupM's Maxus will gain NBCUniversal’s
domestic properties -- television and film. GroupM's MediaCom will continue to represent the company's media interests outside the U.S.
SMG will add NBCUniversal theme parks to its portfolio
to its Comcast's MSO-- work that was done by Starcom MediaVest Group's MediaVest unit.
In a statement, NBC says "the decision to consolidate our media agencies was made in order to streamline
the way our companies conduct business.
Omnicom's OMD was the incumbent for the Universal Studio business; Horizon Media's NBC Universal TV buying business.