Contact: Scott Denne
Cannella Response Television (CRT) is aiming to capitalize on the increasing need for digital metrics in TV advertising by reaching for Media Properties Holdings (MPH). The target is best known for its REVShare business, which partners with local and regional broadcasters and service providers to package and resell television inventory on a cost-per-action (CPA) basis.
Though the coming programmatic TV (i.e., television that is bought in an automated fashion and closer to real time) generates more excitement and headlines, there’s an intermediate step underway and MPH’s inventory relationships put it in a position to capitalize. It will be many years before there’s a watershed shift of television ad sales into programmatic. Despite that, there is an increasing number of younger, digitally native brands that are expanding their TV buys. As they do so, they’re looking for firm ROI metrics to measure the impact of ad spending, rather than loose measures of reach and demographics. That’s benefiting inventory sources like MPH, attribution vendors and media buying agencies with a history in direct-response advertising.
Buying MPH gives CRT a bridge into that world. Today CRT mostly develops and distributes infomercials. Owning MPH will allow it to offer short-form ads to its base of direct-response clients and attract some younger brands seeking direct-response specialists. While MPH’s inventory partnerships could enable CRT to be a player in the eventual move toward programmatic TV, it will take a substantial investment to get there. MPH has developed some analytics capabilities to enable it to price inventory on a CPA basis, though its greatest asset is its partnerships, not its tech.
Petsky Prunier advised MPH on its sale.
For more real-time information on tech M&A, follow us on Twitter @451TechMnA.