Independent SSP platform Magnite is buying SpotX from European broadcaster RTL Group for $1.17 billion in cash and stock. The deal was announced early this morning and positions Magnite as a large, independent CTV and video advertising platform in the SSP arena.
Magnite and SpotX, a global video advertising platform, both tap into device makers, platforms and streaming services from major media companies to deliver ads. The newly combined company says it can sell ad space on sites like Discovery, Disney/Hulu, Fox and Pluto TV, as well as devices from Roku, Samsung and Microsoft, according to a statement.
“Magnite will be the largest independent CTV and video advertising platform while still serving our clients’ non-CTV needs across all formats including display, mobile, and audio,” said Magnite President and CEO Michael Barrett in a statement. “It will bring together the segment’s best technologies and teams at a time when linear advertising budgets are increasingly shifting to CTV.”
In 2020, eMarketer noted that advertisers spent an additional $1.16 billion on programmatic CTV video ads in 2020 compared with 2019. And there has been a recent surge in streaming services from large players like Amazon, Roku, WarnerMedia, NBCUniversal and Discovery.
Folding SpotX’s business portfolio into Magnite could also help streamline the advertising chain. “We’re not just getting bigger for bigger’s sake,” said Barrett. “It allows us to cement our position, [something] publishers and buyers have been asking us to do.” The deal grows Magnite's capabilities as a “CTV and video advertising platform while still serving our clients’ non-CTV needs across all formats including display, mobile, and audio,” Barrett added. “It will bring together the segment’s best technologies and teams at a time when linear advertising budgets are increasingly shifting to CTV.”