WarnerMedia pulls out of audience-targeting alliance Open A.P.

Getty Images

WarnerMedia was a founding member of the audience-targeting alliance, Open A.P.
It’s pulling out of the alliance, saying its advertising strategy changed now that it’s part of AT&T.
Fox, NBCUniversal, and Viacom remain in the alliance.

WarnerMedia is going its own way when it comes to helping advertisers find specific groups of TV-watchers.

The company, a founding member of the audience-targeting media alliance known as Open A.P., said Friday it would withdraw from the alliance, citing its desire to pursue its own strategy under owner AT&T. AT&T purchased Time Warner in June for more than $80 billion, and the company has its own unit devoted to providing data to marketers that helps them narrowly target audience segments.

"As our company has transformed, our advanced advertising strategy has evolved. As a result, we are withdrawing from Open A.P.," the company said in a statement. "We appreciate what OpenAP has supported to this point in widening the adoption of audience-based buying on television."

Viacom, Fox Corp., Univision and NBCUniversal are also members of the group, which was created to give advertisers a single source of defining segments of audience at a time when Madison Avenue is increasingly fixated on honing in on the most likely consumers for a particular product or service.

Open A.P. for its part issued a statement, saying: "OpenAP is a strong and collaborative effort among leading television publishers dedicated to further increasing the effectiveness, transparency and security of the video advertising business for both viewers and brands. FOX, NBCUniversal and Viacom remain committed to working together in pursuit of a premium, open, independently verified marketplace that will continue to transform the industry. Over the next few months, we will be growing and expanding the OpenAP platform to simplify audience buying at scale, and you’ll hear more from us on these exciting developments in the coming days."

NOW WATCH: Aston Martin’s new fully-electric Lagonda could be the future of SUVs