Channel 4 "landed a blow for traditional media companies against technology groups" by winning a BT Sport advertising contract that had previously been held by Google, according to Matthew Garrahan of the FINANCIAL TIMES. The publicly-owned commercial broadcaster created a digital sales arm to sell ads for other media companies and signed BT Sport as its "launch partner." Channel 4 already sells ads for BT Sport's TV channels but added the contract for BT Sport's on-demand services for mobile, tablet and PCs. Channel 4 Head of Digital & Partnership Innovation Jonathan Lewis said that BT Sport's ad slots would be "pooled alongside Channel 4's own advertising windows." Lewis: "We want this to be a place where media agencies and [advertising] clients can buy premium ad inventory at scale." The move comes as broadcasters and media companies explore new partnerships to "make themselves more appealing to advertisers who are looking to reach bigger audiences." The strategy is "intended to make them better at competing with Google and Facebook" (FT, 1/2).
