ESPN is reportedly set to announce at its upfront presentation to advertisers Tuesday a new deal in which it will use viewer data compiled by Cablevision (NYSE: CVC) to sell and package its commercial time.
"We kind of mutually said, 'What if we were to marry both of these?' It would be a first," said Ed Erhardt, ESPN's president of global customer marketing and sales, to Adweek, which first reported the news. "And because we have the scale, we can offer something substantial to the advertiser."
Cablevision announced on April 30 the deployment of a new addressable advertising product, Total Audience Application (TAPP), that provides census-level data on campaigns delivered over its set-tops. That product is currently under trial by major ad-buying shops, including GroupM, Horizon Media and Starcom MediaVest Group.
Cablevision has not responded with clarity as to whether the Disney-owned sports programming powerhouse will be using the TAPP service. A Cablevision representative said a press release will be issued Tuesday on the topic.
"They're obviously a killer brand in the TV space and dominant on a cross-platform basis, so they were a logical partner for us," Cablevision media sales president Ben Tatta told Adweek. "And we're really pleased they embraced us."
For more:
- read this Ad Week story
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