Sports Channel Network Will Use Google Ad Manager

UK-based OTT service Sports Channel Network (SCN) will deliver digital advertising to a free-to-air broadcast audience using the Google Ad Manager platform.

This follows an agreement signed between Google and VOD 365, which owns SCN.

Available on Freeview and YouView, SCN was created at the end of 2017 and has streamed over 900 hours of premium content in HD from partners including Formula E Motor Racing, FIBA Basketball, FIH Pro League Hockey, UCI Cycling, FIA Motorsport, Clipper Sailing, and the Super League Triathlon Series, among others.

Paul Coster, founder and CEO of the VOD 365 group, said: “This agreement with Google marks a real milestone in the development of the VOD 365 group. In sport, we have tested a wide range of content on SCN and can now focus on what works for fans and for advertisers. As marketing spend moves towards programmatic solutions, SCN will target ads to specific pieces of content and measure regional differences.”

“Data for us is the big priority. It’s helping us manage the frequency of ads and how we deliver them, and it’s also helping us in the decision-making process around acquisitions.”

SCN has just signed an agreement for Pro Fight League, which UK MMA fans can now access content free of charge on the channel.

“We are also in advanced discussions with IMMAF, the international governing body for the amateur side of the sport, to make SCN a destination for MMA and with the British & Irish Boxing Authority to become a platform for boxing,” Coster said.

He added: “SCN can sit within existing deals but we also offer an alternative to what we believe is an obsolete minimum guarantee rights model with one offering profit share from advertising revenue.”