MediaWeek reports that Turner Broadcasting is getting rid of third-party ad networks for its remnant inventory across 19 entertainment-themed Websites (including CNN.com, TBS.com and CartoonNetwork.com). Reason? Why sell out their own inventory at a discount, when they already have direct relationships with advertisers?

You can’t fault them for it, and we imagine that as both advertisers and publishers become more confident about their ability to deliver the necessary volume, we’ll see major publishers who have an established offline presence and relationship with advertisers take complete control over their properties’ advertising. Silicon Alley Insider notes that both the WeatherChannel & ESPN have made similar intimations as Turner’s sales chief, David Levy.

Note that these announcements relate to display and video ads, not contextual ads generally served up by the likes of Google, Yahoo and others. For the latter, contextual matching and advertiser breadth still provides contextual ad networks with sizeable advantages over in-house advertising teams. But the former target branding and awareness over direct marketing, something broadcast media is well-positioned through its intense understanding of the market to deliver on.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 2nd, 2008 at 11:07 am and is filed under Online Advertising. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.