• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, July 1, 2021

Independent sell-side advertising platform Magnite has acquired CTV ad-serving platform SpringServe for approximately $31 million.

Magnite's acquisition of video advertising sell-side ad platform SpotX in April, for $1.17 billion -- which created the industry's largest independent CTV and video advertising platform -- included an option to acquire SpringServe, according to the company.

Last year, SpotX made a minority investment in SpringServe in conjunction with a strategic partnership agreement between the two companies.  

SpringServe, launched in 2015 to help marketers optimize digital advertising efficiency, will continue to be demand-agnostic, reports Magnite.

SpringServe's clients include OEMs, such as Vizio, and media owners, such as Pluto TV, and Tastemade. 

SpringServe CEO Joseph Hirsch, who will now become general manager of SpringServe for Magnite, said the SpringServe team will collaborate with Magnite's team and clients on product development and new features for CTV advertising. Hirsch will report to Magnite’s CRO for CTV, Sean Buckley. 

“The addition of SpringServe will better position Magnite to meet the needs of leading CTV publishers, no matter where they are in the evolution of their sales channel strategy,” stated Michael Barrett, Magnite's president and CEO. “If CTV publishers want to be fully programmatic, they can leverage our CTV SSP, and if they’re in the early stages of programmatic, the SpringServe ad server will allow them to go at their own pace and customize their prioritization of direct-sold and programmatic demand. Additionally, our hybrid solution enables programmatic demand to compete with the publisher’s direct-sold demand and optimize yield automatically.”