Mediaset, ProSiebenSat.1 and TF1 constitute the European Broadcaster Exchange (EBX)

Initially, this joint venture will focus on programmatic digital video campaigns, which involve automated, data-driven management of digital advertising purchases and sales.

Mediaset Group (Italy and Spain), TF1 Group (France), and ProSiebenSat.1 (Germany) will form equal parts of the European Broadcaster Exchange (EBX) company with the aim of responding to the demand for brand-safe advertising environments and high-quality digital video campaigns at European level. Initially, this joint venture will focus on programmatic digital video campaigns, which involve automated, data-driven management of digital advertising purchases and sales. At the same time, EBX marks the beginning of a broader strategic collaboration to drive technological development in online advertising.

The new company will be based in London, the main location for media agencies running European campaigns. In the coming weeks, the commercial team will be established, as well as an automated digital video advertising management platform. The operation is subject to approval by the European competition authorities.

By establishing this joint venture, the three media groups will generate structures to compete more efficiently with their counterparts on a global scale and design a joint innovation strategy to create new models with which advertisers can reach their customers. The joint venture will use technology, research and high-quality content to maintain the highest standards of quality and innovation in its digital media offering.

The companies will offer advertising video inventories from their respective countries of origin in order to allow their advertising clients to purchase European programmatic campaigns in the high-quality and secure advertising environments of the television companies. Likewise, the partners will establish an open model aimed at involving other European media groups and also offering their advertising inventories. The programmatic video advertising market is showing strong growth, currently at an annual rate of 45% in Western Europe.

Stefano Sala, CEO of Publitalia 80, Mediaset Group, and member of the Executive Board of Mediaset, commented that "this joint venture is our response to today's digital video landscape. As leading broadcasters in Europe, at Mediaset, ProSiebenSat.1 and TF1 we share the same strategic vision and the same values: we want our advertisers to be able to reach consumers in a quality and safe environment for brands, with the transparency and effectiveness that characterizes our product. We are in a ideal position to jointly promote the new roadmap for high-quality video advertising.”

Por su parte, Christof Wahl, miembro del Consejo ejecutivo, responsable del canal digital y director de operaciones para ProSiebenSat.1 Group, afirmó que “muchas firmas internacionales muestran una sólida demanda de entornos publicitarios de alta calidad y seguros para las marcas en el sector audiovisual. Nuestra joint venture les ofrecerá la oportunidad de reservar de forma automatizada e intuitiva campañas europeas en el marco del entorno de vídeo de alta calidad de una región económica con una población de más de 250 millones de personas. Esto nos permitirá acceder a presupuestos publicitarios adicionales que antes no podíamos alcanzar a escala nacional”.

Olivier Abecassis, director de desarrollo de negocio de TF1 Group y miembro del Consejo ejecutivo de TF1 Group, declaró que “después de invertir en Studio 71 el pasado enero, en una operación orientada al ámbito del contenido, nos enorgullece anunciar la consolidación de nuestra alianza con ProSiebenSat.1 y Mediaset. EBX nos permitirá presentar a las marcas internacionales un inventario de vídeos de elevada calidad con contenido premium y seguro para las marcas a nivel europeo, además de explotar el potencial de la tecnología programática. Los datos y las tecnologías unificadas facilitarán los procesos para nuestros clientes. Estamos ante el inicio de una maravillosa alianza”.

Mediaset Group, TF1 Group and ProSiebenSat.1 are also members of the European Media Alliance, a media network made up of the most important television companies in Europe, established in 2014 with the aim of generating common synergies and investment opportunities. In January 2017, the three companies announced a collaboration in the field of multi-channel networks (MCN). Subsequently, TF1 Group and Mediaset (Italy) invested in Studio71, a subsidiary of ProSiebenSat.1 that is among the three largest MCNs in the world and whose content registers almost 7 billion views per month.