In another case of advertising making strange bedfellows, Comcast
Spotlight, the advertising arm of the nation's largest cable company,
struck an agreement with AT&T to sell local ads for the telco's
U-verse TV service in 21 U.S. markets starting as early as June.
NCC
Media, the ad sales, marketing and technology organization that
represents cable, satellite and telco operators in every U.S. market,
will manage multimarket buys on both the Comcast and AT&T U-verse
services for national advertisers.
"This is another significant
step in simplifying the process of planning and buying media in spot
cable throughout our footprint," Comcast Spotlight president Charlie
Thurston said in announcing the agreement. "Local, regional and national
spot advertisers alike will benefit from the convenience of having a
single media source for local spot advertising that enables them to
reach the largest possible audience."
Comcast Spotlight also
sells ads for Verizon's FiOS TV in select markets
and has a deal with Dish Network to sell local ad inventory on regional
sports networks. NCC has an agreement with DirecTV to sell local ads on
certain RSNs.
