Sports-focused TV streamer fuboTV today announced its support of Unified ID 2.0, the open-source identity solution from The Trade Desk. The addition of fubtoTV as a Unified ID partner is a milestone as it marks the first CTV player to sign on.
“fuboTV is excited to partner on Unified ID 2.0 with The Trade Desk and other partners to develop industry-wide standards and solutions that enhance and support the CTV advertising ecosystem,” said Diana Horowitz, fuboTV’s SVP of ad sales. “We believe Unified ID 2.0 has the potential to both enhance targeting capabilities for our advertisers as well as allow our viewers to experience relevant advertising. We have been pleased with the support the initiative, still in its pilot phase, has already had across the industry, and we look forward to working with all partners to develop an independent, open-source framework.”
The announcement is another vote of confidence for The Trade Desk’s independent identity solution, which already has the support of a growing number of top industry players, including SpotX, Criteo, Nielsen, The Washington Post, and LiveRamp. CEO Jeff Green’s goal is to create the standard for identity in a post-cookie world. However, he has his work cut out for him given interesting ID solutions from players like Verizon Media and Lotame.
The Trade Desk’s ID uses “encrypted and hashed email addresses,” not cookies, which should help consumers more easily manage their privacy and data footprint across the web. Ultimately, Unified ID is likely to be governed by a third-party, as evidenced by the company’s courtship of PRAM.
“The collaborative nature of Unified ID 2.0 allows for every type of digital publisher to participate, which is why we’re thrilled to see fuboTV join many others across the industry,” said Michelle Hulst, The Trade Desk’s COO. “By coming together and creating an interoperable, open source solution, we are improving the digital advertising experience across all digital media. The opportunity Unified ID 2.0 presents for connected TV has taken a big step forward with this announcement.”
