Verizon Boosts Digital Advertising With Ampersand Tie-Up

In a concerted effort to reinforce and promote audience-targeted advertisements on various digital platforms, the media and online business unit of Verizon Communications Inc. VZ — Verizon Media — collaborated with TV advertising consortium, Ampersand. The latest move, which is considered a significant milestone for Verizon’s business, is primarily aimed at attracting new advertisers so that they can create innovative digital advertising opportunities for Verizon Fios and Verizon Media DSP across Connected TV, OTT and addressable TV platforms.

With coverage of 85 million households in the United States, Ampersand is an advertising giant that leverages data-driven technology to provide reliable viewership insights to various advertisers. The company is a TV ad sales group owned by a consortium of Charter Communications, Inc. CHTR, Comcast Corporation CMCSA and Cox. Notably, the  proprietary viewership insights enable advertisers and digital brands to plan, execute and measure multi-screen TV campaigns  on a larger scale as well as drive operational efficiencies in media investments, thereby making the most of the avant-garde technology.

Per the partnership, Ampersand will be the exclusive seller of Verizon Fios, which is an Internet-based TV provider that operates through a fiber-optic communications network with more than 5 million customers in nine U.S. states. The advertising behemoth will also leverage Verizon Media’s DSP platform, its sole independent video advertising platform. Notably, Ampersand has long been associated with the tech giant as a seller of traditional TV inventory. With Ampersand capitalizing on Verizon’s addressable TV inventory to simplify workflow between buyers and sellers in the digital space, the partnership will expand Verizon’s programmatic ad offering to enhance the viewing habits of customers.

Markedly, the addressable TV platform connects media owners’ inventory with advertiser demand and delivers personalized advertisements in real time based on a combination of audience analysis and clustering technologies. Of late, Ampersand has been witnessing a steep decline in viewership data across various digital platforms as pay-TV providers continue to bleed subscribers. Consequently, Ampersand has struck numerous deals with other TV service providers and media companies like DISH Network Corporation DISH and Fubo TV to offset this downtrend. As a result, the latest deal is likely to be a win-win situation for both the companies.

As one of the most efficient wireless networks in the United States, Verizon deploys state-of-the-art technologies to solve complex business challenges and deliver increased capacity, lower latency and faster speeds. Its operations are backed by customer-focused planning, disciplined engineering and strategic investments. Markedly, the tech giant started 2020 on a positive note, reporting relatively healthy first-quarter 2020 results primarily led by the wireless business. Seeking competitive edge in a saturated and price-sensitive market, the company aims to retain its lead in promulgating 5G mobile networks nationwide by using virtualized machines and advanced levels of operational automation.

Moving forward, Verizon expects healthy improvement in margins on the back of continued strong Fios network and services in the Wireline business. The company’s efforts to improve profitable growth include enhancing operating and capital efficiency. In the enterprise and wholesale businesses, Verizon is changing its revenue mix toward newer growth services like cloud, security and professional services. Also, the company is looking forward to capitalize on innovative technology solutions being developed in the IoT and the telematics ecosystem across multiple industries. Further, the company’s focus on online content delivery, mobile video and online advertising are likely to drive growth.

With a forward P/E ratio of 11.8, Verizon has long-term earnings growth expectation of 3.1%. Despite efficient operational strategies, the Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock has lost 5.7% compared with the industry’s decline of 12.9% in the past three months. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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