Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) said today that it will acquire LiveRail, which counts numerous big companies like Major League Baseball, Gannett, A&E Networks, and AB among its clients. The advertising technology company enables its clients to serve up better video ads on their apps and websites.
Why Facebook wanted LiveRail
LiveRail has been around since 2007. It offers a platform for publishers of online videos that makes it easy for them to locate and serve up the best possible ads. The company also gives marketers access to premium videos and all the information they need to best target their viewers. In the announcement, Facebook said that the company offers “a complete advertising for video publishers.
The social network said it will acquire LiveRail because it believes that the company’s technology will help Facebook’s advertising clients improve their video ads while also making them more relevant and more engaging and interesting for those who watch online videos. In turn, Facebook said marketers should find their video ads posted on the social network to be more effective. In addition, the company said publishers will benefit because more relevant ads will enable them to “make the most out of every opportunity they have to show an ad.”
Facebook targets greater market share
Facebook said the partnership with LiveRail is just in the beginning stage but that it is excited. Management believes online video advertising will be much better, more relevant, and easer to deliver and measure as a result of the acquisition. Terms of the deal were not disclosed by the two companies.
Perhaps one of the best pieces of LiveRail is the company’s real-time bidding platform for online videos. The platform is designed to match publishers with the marketing customers it deems to be the best match.
Facebook has been moving more and more aggressively into the online video market. Analysts have been saying for some time that online video ads could drive upside to their estimates. The social network recently started rolling out auto-play video ads.
