When Manish Jha was debating whether to leave the NFL for a job at Tremor Video, he sought counsel from former colleagues John Skipper and Steve Bornstein.
Now that he has taken the job as Tremor’s president of publisher platforms, Jha again will call on his old ESPN and NFL counterparts as he looks to expand the video ad network’s digital advertising business.
“My goal is to bring the most advanced monetization platform for video advertising to the most premier and high-passionate brands,” Jha said of joining the company last month. “Digital is what the future of the industry is. That’s more abundantly clear now than it’s ever been.”
Tremor Video became a public company last year. It has begun investing in “programmatic” ad buying, which essentially uses software to make ad buys across multiple digital platforms, like mobile and broadband.
Tremor already counts big-name companies such as Viacom and A&E as clients, Jha said. He plans to focus on sports companies, both networks and leagues, as a growth area.
“Sports fans are early adopters of technology,” he said. “There’s a need for real-time access to information and highlights that’s different from the other verticals and categories of content.”
Jha, who is best known for overseeing ESPN’s mobile phone business, was at the NFL for the past 2 1/2 years.
During that time, he handled the league’s relationship with Verizon Wireless and helped build out its mobile platform.
Jha will work out of the company’s Santa Monica, Calif., office.
