New industry solution allows programmers to unlock previously unreachable inventory for monetization and provides ease of management for cross-screen campaigns.

FreeWheel today announced that it has teamed up with AMC Networks to introduce a new, fully self-service linear addressable solution. This new industry offering will allow programmers to unlock previously hard-to-access inventory for monetization purposes as well as provide ease of management for multi-screen campaigns.

This new solution is noteworthy as it addresses two current industry problems: First, programmers want access to addressable advertising across all of their inventory supply pools, including digital, set-top-box video on demand (STB VOD) and linear. Secondly, programmers currently do not have a way to break down individual ad units into impressions.

With this new offering, advertisers can now:

• Make real-time decisioning and optimization decisions across previously siloed supply to improve audience reach and monetization.
• Utilize a self-service solution to give programmers control of their inventory.
• Use an automated schedule ingest to identify addressable supply and capture relevant business rules (e.g., industry categories, SASO), thereby reducing the need to identify spots in multiple systems.

“We’re approaching an inflection point in addressable advertising. Interest and spend in this sector is growing, and until now, programmers have been constrained by a lack of scale,” said Mark McKee, General Manager, FreeWheel. “At FreeWheel, our purpose is to better connect buyers and sellers with solutions that make TV advertising more efficient, and we believe this new solution will go a long way in achieving that goal for linear addressable and the industry.”

According to research from Go Addressable, an industry initiative to advance the adoption and scale of addressable advertising, nearly 90% of advertisers agree that addressable is important to the future of TV advertising, and one in three addressable TV advertisers plan to increase their spending this year.

AMC Networks has established a leadership position in bringing addressable advertising to television. After successful trial campaigns in late 2020 and 2021, the company in 2022 is offering three national addressable slots in every hour of original programming on AMC and WE tv, with Amazon on board as the first advertising partner to take advantage of the opportunity to more effectively reach consumers with relevant advertising through this enhanced level of targeting.

“As we are demonstrating with our own inventory every day, addressable advertising has arrived, and now the next step is making it even more widely available and easier to buy,” said Evan Adlman, senior vice president of advanced advertising and digital partnerships for AMC Networks. “We are thrilled FreeWheel agreed to partner with us to expand access to this superior approach to television advertising, unlocking inventory that allows businesses to deliver more relevant and targeted messages to viewers across the country.”

FreeWheel is currently working with Canoe (an industry joint venture formed by Charter, Comcast and Cox) to introduce this new solution with AMC Networks. Moving forward, it will be available through other programmers later this year.

About FreeWheel

FreeWheel empowers all segments of The New TV Ecosystem. We are structured to provide the full breadth of solutions the advertising industry needs to achieve their goals. We provide the technology, data enablement and convergent marketplaces required to ensure buyers and sellers can transact across all screens, across all data types, and all sales channels, in order to ensure the ultimate goal – results for marketers. With offices in New York, San Francisco, Chicago, London, Paris, Beijing, and across the globe, FreeWheel, A Comcast Company, stands to advocate for the entire industry through the FreeWheel Council for Premium Video. For more information, please visit freewheel.com, and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

About AMC Networks

AMC Networks is a global entertainment company known for its popular and critically-acclaimed content. Its portfolio of brands includes fast-growing targeted streaming services AMC+, Acorn TV, Shudder, Sundance Now and ALLBLK, as well as AMC, BBC AMERICA (operated through a joint venture with BBC Studios), IFC, SundanceTV, WE tv and IFC Films. AMC Studios, the Company’s in-house studio, production and distribution operation, is behind some of the biggest titles and brands known to a global audience, including The Walking Dead, the Anne Rice catalog and the Agatha Christie library. The Company also operates AMC Networks International, its international programming business, and 25/7 Media, its production services business.

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