smartclip has acquired European measurement specialist Realytics, the RTL-owned ad tech company announced this morning.
The acquisition combines smartclip’s SSP and Realytics’ DSP to help advertisers measure the impact of TV campaigns on websites, using AI algorithms to enable “better decisioning in traditional linear TV buying,” according to smartclip Europe co-CEO and MD Thomas Servatius.
smartclip customers will have access to Realytics’ attribution capabilities and data, as well as solutions for automated data-driven linear TV buying. The move complements smartclip’s recently announced joint venture with Amobee called TechAlliance, a cross-screen DSP for programmatic TV buying.
“The acquisition of Realytics enables us to tap into all touch points of sales and usage data and offer advertisers an all-encompassing view into TV audiences out of one hand,” added Servatius. “Realytics clearly meets the market’s expectations regarding specific knowledge about drive-to-web and deliver comprehensive data about the customer journey of TV audiences.”
Hybrid company
smartclip’s owner RTL Deutschland also revealed plans to broaden its media offering this week, building on its acquisition of publishing house Grüner + Jahr.
Speaking at ANGA COM in Germany, RTL Deutschland co-CEO Matthias Dang said the company would launch a combined video, music and streaming offering this year, claiming that “almost no other media and publishing house” could do so.
Dang called RTL a “hybrid company” that intends to expand beyond TV. “I believe linear TV will be around for the next three to five years and after that you need a crystal ball,” he stated.
At a separate panel, RTL+ co-MD Henning Nieslony compared this vision to Deutsche Telekom’s “super-aggregation” strategy. RTL’s streaming partnership with Deutsche Telekom has helped RTL+ attract three million subscribers in three years, the company said.
