LG Ads, Magnite sign multi-year deal for ACR data

Magnite is getting access to LG Ads Solutions’ audience-level ACR data from opted-in LG smart TVs in the U.S.

The automatic content recognition (ACR) data will be available across Magnite’s U.S. supply-side platform (SSP) inventory footprint, with plans to expand to other countries beginning in 2023. The multi-year deal provides access to data, inventory and analytics to advertisers. The deal, announced Tuesday, makes Magnite LG Ads Solutions’ preferred ad server and SSP.

The companies have already completed data integrations, saying benefits to media buyers are immediate. Buyers are looking for better information on their campaign reach and frequency, with ACR becoming a top tool to guide CTV advertising choices, according to LG. The partnership with Magnite, the largest independent CTV SSP, is a next step in helping to scale ACR technology.

“ACR data provides key targeting and measurement capabilities to the buy side,” said Sean Buckley, chief revenue officer at Magnite, in a statement. “By providing secure access at scale to this valuable piece of the puzzle, we are enabling buyers to better plan, execute and attribute their campaigns across both CTV and linear. Activation is also DSP agnostic, so buyers have the flexibility to choose the demand-side platforms they want to use.”

Omnicom Media Group Chief Activation Officer Megan Pagliuca said in a statement that the company has been working with both LG Ads and Magnite for more reliable targeting capabilities in the CTV space.

“We expect this partnership to enable us to combine the strength of Omni’s Audiences with LG’s ACR data targeting and Magnite’s scale to improve verified audience delivery across our CTV targeted campaign,” stated Pagliuca.

And Raghu Kodige, CEO of LG Ads Solution, said Magnite makes the ideal partner to help fuel the streaming and cross-screen ad business.

“As we continue to expand access to our audience data in order to support a healthy planning, activation and measurement ecosystem, Magnite helps us enable advertisers to better understand how and where their campaigns are working,” said Kodige. We’re excited to be working with their team to bring more transparency and visibility to the industry.”

Magnite has been making its presence known at the Cannes Lions festival in France this week, according to AdAge, where eyes have been on Google as a front-runner ad partner for Netflix in its effort to quickly spin up an ad-supported tier. However, Magnite has emerged as a key potential supply-side partner, according to AdAge, citing people familiar with Netflix’s considerations.

The deal with Magnite is the latest expansion of the use of LG Ads ACR data. The company signed a deal with iSpot in December covering ACR data from more than 20 million LG TVs, adding to data from in around 19 million mostly Vizio TVs iSpot collected from.

At the time, TVREV analyst Alan Wolk pointed out that it was significant in that for years Vizio “was the only major OEM to license currency-grade data to third parties.”

As to LG, “They’re moving judiciously, but the fact that they are moving at all is notable and is definitely going to shake up the data and measurement industries,” Wolk wrote in December.

More recently Nielsen marked a deal with Vizio to use its Inscape ACR data for measurement.