Dive Brief:

• Time Inc. is acquiring programmatic advertising platform Adelphic via its ad tech company Viant, according to a joint press release. Viant is a mobile-first cloud-based marketing platform offering identity management, media execution and data analytics. 
• By combining Viant and Adelphic’s capabilities, Time will have the pieces in place for a well-rounded in-house private marketplace that can leverage user insights from Viant, automated programmatic buying from Adelphic and the entire marketplace will be cross-channel because Viant is a cookie-less technology.
• The press release pointed to eMarketer forecasts that programmatic might make up more than 70% of digital advertising this year, and that 75% of mobile ad spending will be programmatic.

Dive Insight:

Time Inc., which includes more than 100 publishing titles, looks to be putting together a private programmatic marketplace with the Adelphic deal, something that could enable marketers to work directly with the publisher to develop cross-channel campaigns for its titles with automate buying, identity management and analytics built-in. For Time, a successful private marketplace would mean it could forge a more independent path that would not be dependent on Google, Facebook or other ad networks for ad placement, thereby potentially helping the publisher drive greater revenue from digital ads. 

Private marketplaces are not a new idea, with previous attempts by other publishers having mixed results. However, few other attempts would be as robust as a Time Inc., Viant, Adelphic offering. Hearst, Tribune Publishing and Future Publishing have all introduced private marketplaces that give the publishers more control over their ad inventory as well as ad buyers, but issues arise when supply-side platforms aren’t perfectly compatible with demand-side platforms (DSPs) on the buyer’s side, according to reporting by Digiday.

Time Inc. is side-stepping this potential issue via the Adelphic acquisition since it is a DSP and Time will own the entire chain within its marketplace from inventory to ad tech through the buying and selling process. Having cross-device capabilities built into the marketplace should be another selling point for advertisers looking for an easy way to reach an audience on both desktop and mobile screens.