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March 27, 2008
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ESPN.com Leading Movement To Slow Growth Of Ad Networks

ESPN.com Severs Ties With Several Ad Networks

ESPN.com, which recently "cut ties with Specific Media and several other unnamed" ad networks, is "taking the bold stand that ad selling that relies heavily on arbitrage and algorithms is not for them," according to Mike Shields of the MEDIAWEEK. While some "prominent sites" are experimenting with selling inventory through online ad networks, and in some cases ad exchanges, sources said that ESPN would like to "rally support from other publishers behind this move and ultimately tamp down ad networks' growth." Turner's digital sales unit is "rumored to be considering a similar move." ESPN's decision "crystallizes a philosophical debate" in online ad sales that has formed between those who "want to protect traditional, direct selling of premium content brands and those in the math-loving crowd that favor automation and data." Shields noted in recent years more online ad networks, in an effort to "differentiate themselves," have been "touting themselves as 'premium' ad networks, talking up their associations with the ESPNs of the world when they meet ad agencies" (MEDIAWEEK.com, 3/24).

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