• by Wayne Friedman , February 21, 2019

Nielsen has acquired addressable advertising company Sorenson Media, and will now be launching a new product --Nielsen Advanced Video Advertising, focused on smart TV-based measurement.

Sorenson Media’s addressable TV ad platform will be combined with Nielsen’s Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) technology, acquired through Gracenote. ACR technology identifies content on internet-connected smart TVs.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

With the expectation of continued growth in smart TVs -- some 250 million by 2023, according to estimates -- Nielsen says “the industry needs an end-to-end, AI-optimized platform that enables ad delivery, data-driven targeting, automation, real-time optimization, unified campaign management, and measurement.”

Nielsen says Gracenote’s ACR technology provides real-time, frame-level ad detection regardless of source or platform. Previously, Nielsen acquired Qterics, a smart TV software and privacy management company.

Already Nielsen targets audiences using smart TV data for its Nielsen Marketing Cloud product. Last year Nielsen launched a addressable TV pilot with CBS, A+E Networks and several other broadcasters in five markets with two TV set manufacturers in an effort to understand consumer usage and business impact.