Cross-platform broadcaster Glassbox Television is to sell Canadian online display inventory for six MTV Networks International websites: Spike.com, VH1.com, GameTrailers.com, Atom.com, TVLand.com and LogoTV.com.
The Canadian representation deal follows Glassbox’s online rollout of its own Bite.ca and Aux.tv brands.
The reach of the six new sites is over two million UMVs, primarily 18- to 35-year-olds, Simon Foster, VP, business development, Glassbox Television, tells MiC.
‘These six sites are very complementary with what we’re already doing,’ he says. ‘The two categories we really target in a strong way is music and men. We have, on the music side, VH1 and Aux, and on the men’s side we have our newly launched Bite channel along with Spike.com, GameTrailers.com and Atom.com, so two really robust offerings for advertisers.’
Because Glassbox is a content producer, broadcaster and digital company, it can offer up creative ad solutions quickly, including webisodes, microsites and blogger outreach, Foster says.
‘There’s a real hunger for video advertising opportunities, pre-roll, etc., and these sites have a lot of it,’ he explains. ‘It’s also distinguished by the fact that it’s premium stuff, it’s popular episodic content, and it has a Canadian audience that is really dedicated to those sites.’
The mediaco also received approval from the CRTC to to acquire the digital specialty channel Travel + Escape from CTV for $10 million.
The two-step transaction will see CTVglobemedia, through a new corporate vehicle called Newco, acquire as part of a corporate reorganization the assets of Travel + Escape from subsidiary CTV Television.
The second step will see ownership and effective control of Newco shift to Glassbox.
‘As a result of this transaction, effective control of Newco will be exercised by Glassbox,’ the CRTC said, as it outlined the complicated corporate deal.
As it takes control of Travel + Escape, Glassbox agreed to a tangible benefits package worth $1 million over seven years, or 10% of the transaction price, to include $850,000 destined for a self-directed Glassbox Travel Multiscreen Fund.
The CRTC ordered that the $850,000 million fund be directed to indie producers.
With files from Playback Daily
