Bringing more advanced advertising capabilities in-house, Comcast has struck a deal to acquire Visible World, the New York-based maker of targeted ad systems and a programmatic TV platform via its AudienceXpress subsidiary.
The announcement, made Thursday in this blog post by Visible World CEO Seth Haberman, comes more than three months after The Wall Street Journalreported that Comcast and the vendor were in M&A talks.
Visible World’s partners include Comcast, Bright House Networks, Cablevision Systems, Cox Communications, Charter Communications, Suddenlink and Time Warner Cable, among others. Cox Media and Suddenlink are among the known customers of AudienceXpress.
Comcast’s proposed acquisition for Visible World also comes about a year after Comcast acquired online advertising specialist FreeWheel.
Financial terms of the Comcast-Visible World deal were not announced, but the MSO plans for Visible World to operate as an independent business.
Haberman said the deal will help to take the ad tech firm to the “next level.”
“As the industry continues to evolve and expand, we’ve also looked for new opportunities to change, expand, strengthen and position our business for future success,” Haberman wrote. “So today, I am thrilled to announce that we have found the perfect partner to help us achieve our goals and help us take our business and services to the next level: Visible World has signed an agreement to be acquired by Comcast.”
“Visible World is a dynamic company and a real complement to our existing advanced advertising initiatives,” added John Schanz, executive vice president and chief network officer for Comcast Cable. “Visible World offers a diverse spectrum of services that serve a variety of needs across the television advertising landscape. This partnership reflects the business and technology trends we are seeing in the television industry today. We look forward to helping the talented Visible World team expand and accelerate their business and create more value for distributors, advertisers, agencies, programmers and affiliates.”
Founded in 2000, Visible World has raised about $33 million, including a $25 million "C" round, according to CrunchBase.
