Sky Media and Amazon Ads have announced that Sky’s premium streaming inventory and audiences are now available to advertisers in the UK and Ireland through Amazon Ads Agent.
The new integration gives advertisers access to Sky’s award-winning entertainment, acclaimed drama, live sport and trusted news across some of the nation’s most-loved channels and shows. Customers of Amazon Ads will be able to access this genre-spanning inventory across Sky Go, NOW, Sky Glass, Sky Q and Sky Stream.
With 70% of UK households having access to a subscription video-on-demand service, according to Barb, and viewing shared across a range of services and devices, planning and buying video at scale is becoming more fragmented and complex. This partnership addresses that complexity by giving Amazon Ads advertisers access to Sky’s premium streaming portfolio.
READ MORE: Exited Musiio founder among double advisory appointment at Lancashire’s Fhunded Angels
The portfolio includes Sky News, the UK’s leading commercial news broadcaster, and the UK’s broadest range of live sport, including Premier League football, European and PGA tour golf, world darts and Formula 1. Advertisers can also access content from Sky Media’s partners, including HBO Max, Discovery+ and TNT Sports, through the same connection and use enhanced audience targeting via Sky’s own proprietary audience signals.
Programmatic Guaranteed deals are available immediately, giving advertisers reserved, guaranteed access to Sky’s premium inventory, with Private Marketplace deals to follow through Amazon Ads Agent.
“As ‘fragmentation’ continues to be the most used word in our industry, it’s becoming evident that the future will be defined by reducing complexity without compromising on quality,” said Pippa Scaife, director of digital advertising, Sky Media. “Through our partnership with Amazon Ads, we’re delivering this by giving advertisers more choice in how they access Sky’s streaming inventory and trusted audiences. We’re so excited to leverage Amazon’s amazing technology to continue to deliver the effectiveness and trust that Sky’s environments provide.”
As an early access partner for the integration, Omnicom Media has already worked with leading brands to incorporate Sky Media into their streaming TV campaigns, enabling them to plan, activate and measure across Sky’s inventory alongside their wider video investment – all through Amazon Ads.
“As the broadcast and streaming ecosystem continues to evolve, advertisers are looking for efficiencies and connected solutions that enable advanced audience targeting, decisioning and measurement. The integration between Sky Media and Amazon Ads helps streamline access to high-quality video inventory and supports a more connected approach to campaign execution and insights for our clients,” said Melinda Clow, head of platforms & technology, Omnicom Media UK.
“Sky is one of the UK’s most recognised media brands with shows that audiences know and love, and this integration gives advertisers a new way to reach those audiences,” added Phil Christer, managing director, UK, Amazon Ads. “By removing complexity from video planning and buying, we’re making it easier for brands to focus on what matters most: connecting with the right audiences at the right moment.”
Amazon Ads Agent is the new unified platform that brings sponsored ads and display, video, and audio together in one simple, connected, AI-first ads platform. Through Amazon Ads Agent, advertisers have the option to use manual campaign building tools, let Amazon’s AI optimise on their behalf, or employ a mix of both depending on campaign goal and advertiser need.
