Engage:BDR integrates major US digital TV player into its platform

Advertising company Engage:BDR (ASX: EN1) has added digital video inventory firm Comcast FreeWheel into its programmatic platform which is set to create incremental revenue and profit.

Founded in 2007 and a subsidiary of Comcast, FreeWheel is currently one of the largest video supply-side platforms globally with a focus on digital TV.

Specifically, FreeWheel TV’s core competency rests in its ability to offer tremendous reach on connected TV (CTV) and OTT devices.

Its ad management platform encompasses a premium marketplace for TV inventory and advertising services.

Since its inception, the San Francisco-headquartered company has charged ahead in the TV/digital ad ecosystem. Its platform seeks to automate media planning, buying and selling, while maintaining transparency and production control to help improve advertisers’ branding plans.

Extensive integration benefits

Engage:BDR said incorporating FreeWheel into its platform would enable access to premium digital TV publishers with a heavy footprint in Asia Pacific and European regions.

“At the core, the FreeWheel integration helps EN1 expand its reach into the TV and video ecosystem, drive ad exchanges and incrementally grow revenue,” engage:BDR said.

“FreeWheel fills a significant void in the engageBDR’s supply chain and brings the company closer to the CTV/OTT and linear TV inventory, and the marketers who are looking for it.”

In addition, engage:BDR highlighted the benefits of FreeWheel’s “extensive reach across TV” which would enable it to better service and scale existing buyers while also providing more holistic media plans for brands.

Revenue contribution

While engage:BDR didn’t specify estimated financial figures, the company said it expected the integration of FreeWheel to contribute substantially to its financial targets in the coming months.

Increasing revenue is one of the key components of the company’s strategic plan for 2019, which is expected to grow in parallel to further integrations as well as adding third-party partners onto its proprietary ad platform.

FreeWheel is the latest addition to the company’s online programmatic service offering, with the company only recently integrating a suite of firms into its business.

The new integrations bring engage:BDR’s total third-party providers to 175, thereby rapidly enhancing and extending the capability of its programmatic ad platform.

Company chief executive officer Ted Dhanik recently said that integrations were a key driver of strengthening revenue generation over the foreseeable future, with the numerous integrations set to pave the way for higher revenue streams in 2019.

In addition, the company will look to scale existing relationships and deploy several new technologies via recently-signed partnerships with IconicReach and AdCel, which could add significant reach to incremental customers.

Engage:BDR’s shares were unchanged at $0.023 soon after market opening.