Bulletins

Roku is buying Nielsen’s video ad business

The streaming device maker is acquiring Nielsen's Advanced Video Advertising business, which includes video ad insertion and content recognition, or ACR, technologies. As part of the acquisition, the two companies will also partner more closely on ad and video measurement.

Terms of the deal, which is expected to close in the second quarter, were not disclosed. Some of Nielsen's Advanced Video Advertising staffers will join Roku once the deal closes, with a Roku spokesperson telling Protocol that these new staffers will be based in the U.S., the U.K. and South Korea.

The deal represents Roku's second major advertising technology acquisition to date. In late 2019, Roku acquired ad tech startup Dataxu for $150 million. By adding Nielsen's tech to the mix, the company now hopes to turn itself into a kind of one-stop shop for advertisers looking to target consumers across traditional TV and online video.

Janko Roettgers

Janko Roettgers ( Twitter , Mastodon ) used to be a senior reporter at Protocol, reporting on the shifting power dynamics between tech, media, and entertainment, including the impact of new technologies. Previously, Janko was Variety's first-ever technology writer in San Francisco, where he covered big tech and emerging technologies. He has reported for Gigaom, Frankfurter Rundschau, Berliner Zeitung, and ORF, among others. He has written three books on consumer cord-cutting and online music and co-edited an anthology on internet subcultures. He lives with his family in Oakland.

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Bulletins