Disney is reportedly looking to sell off TrueX, an advertising tech firm it got as part of its $71 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Disney does not consider TrueX a core asset, and hasn’t invested in the tech company since acquiring the Fox assets. The company’s annual revenue was less than $100 million by the time Disney took ownership of the company. TrueX was never integrating with Disney’s ad sales segments or its tech division, Disney Streaming Services (formerly BAMTech Media).
Fox bought TrueX back in 2014 for $200 million, and co-founder Joe Marchese eventually ended up leading ad sales for the Fox Networks Group. Marchese left Fox in 2019, and is now reportedly interested in buying back TrueX from Disney.
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TrueX’s ad tech includes formats that offer consumers the chance to interact with ads in exchange for reduced ad loads or no ads at all while watching video content. The company has worked with Fox and WarnerMedia, and is reportedly one of the vendors – alongside Brightline and Innovid – used by Hulu for interactive advertising.
TrueX also works with cable channels including ESPN and livestreaming platforms like Twitch.
When Disney took ownership of TrueX last year after closing its Fox deal, the company was behind its competition in terms of ad experimentation, according to Ad Age. TrueX has worked with several brands on innovative ad formats. It worked with Sonic on using hand gestures for interaction with ads and with Amazon Echo on integrating voice interaction.