• by Steve Smith  @popeyesm, December 3, 2013

Consolidation across traditional Web and mobile companies continues with the announcement today that longtime video search, media and ad platform Blinkx has agreed to acquire the mobile video and ad platform to leading publishers Rhythm NewMedia for $65 million. Blinkx powers video search at AOL and Lycos and boasts partnerships with over 1100 media providers. Founded in 2004, the company has also acquired in recent months Grab Media, a video content and syndication platform, and in 2011 Burst Media and PVMG.

In Rhythm NewMedia, Blinkx gets a mobile-focused video ad platform that has cultivated relationships with over 50 premium TV and online video providers. The company serves both video and rich media ad units in major media apps and developed a video player platform that allows for in-stream video ad interactivity. Its client list includes E! and TMZ. According to the announcement, more than 200 brand advertisers ran campaigns on Rhythm in 2012 for year-long revenue of $19 million. It ran a loss of $7.4 million. By mid-year 2013, Rhythm had already seen $13.3 million in sales.

Top executives for Rhythm Ujjal Kohli, CEO, and CRO Paul Bremer will remain in place. Kohli said in a statement, “Rhythm and blinkx possess a joint competency in delivering turnkey, dynamic and creative online advertising solutions, backed by industry-leading technology. This is a transaction between two highly compatible companies that will bring unparalleled depth and breadth to the evolving digital video advertising space.”

The acquisition allows Blinkx and Rhythm to offer cross-platform video advertising campaigns to brand advertisers at scale. The deal reflects a growing need for advertisers and their ad tech partners to craft more seamless multi-screen distribution solutions. It gives Blinkx access to some of the premium broadcasting brands Rhythm has attracted and helps extend Rhythm’s reach into the hundreds of providers Blinkx already helps monetize.

For his part, Blinkx CEO S. Brian Mukherjee stated: “In Rhythm, we see a perfect strategic alignment with our vision to connect consumers with brands through professionally generated content, across any Internet connected device, anywhere in the world. This acquisition aligns with our strategy to expand our digital video expertise to the mobile sector at scale.”