Magnite and Disney are re-upping.
The largest independent SSP has announced a two-year extension of its partnership with Disney (this is their sixth year working together). Under the renewed deal, Magnite will remain the preferred SSP for Disney, helping the company monetize all of its ad-supported inventory and serving as the primary connection to the 30+ DSPs that Disney works with.
As part of the agreement, Magnite has also expanded its relationship with Disney. One new area is Disney’s use of Magnite’s ClearLine offering, which will allow Disney to execute direct one-to-one deals with key buyers, sidestepping DSPs. The goal here is the ClearLine value proposition: reduce costs, improve transparency, and give the publisher—in this case, Disney—greater control over its premium video inventory. This is part of a broader industry trend, of course, toward direct relationships between media owners and advertisers.
Additionally, Magnite will now help Disney offer podcast inventory for ESPN and ABC News through PMPs. This gives advertisers access to premium audio in exclusive, invite-only marketplaces for more control over ad placements and helping Disney better monetize its content. (Is anyone else shocked that “curation” wasn’t mentioned somewhere here?)
Magnite will also support Disney in monetizing live-streamed College Football games on ESPN, expanding their work in sports.
Why This Matters:
Disney is a great partner to have as the partnership announcement has given Magnite’s share price a healthy boost.
The ClearLine work with Disney is also interesting. It speaks to SPO (supply path optimization) which has emerged due to issues like inventory quality control, cost inefficiencies, and the overall desire for a more well-lit programmatic ecosystem. Rather than be disintermediated, especially by DSP initiatives like TTD’s OpenPath, which some say are meant to bypass SSPs, platforms like Magnite have responded with their own SPO, direct-to-buyer solutions, like ClearLine. Disney’s endorsement of ClearLine is obviously a win for Magnite and makes them stickier as a partner.
Experts React:
Jamie Power, SVP of Addressable Sales at Disney, said in the announcement press release, “With all our streaming inventory available programmatically, Magnite remains a key technology partner supporting Disney’s advertising business. Magnite plays a critical role in allowing buyers to access Disney’s inventory by connecting to more than 30 demand-side platforms in the US and starting to expand globally.”
Our Take:
A thought here—if you’re a DSP wanting to highlight your relationship with Disney, the focus on the “30+ DSPs” language makes it trickier to do so. It’s great for positioning Magnite as a prominent Disney partner, obviously, but an interesting thing to see here. But, hey, more power to the SSP side, who deserves their “lick back,” as the kids say.
