Ireland’s leading commercial broadcaster, Virgin Media, has announced a partnership with Google Ireland to integrate what it calls a first-of-its-kind integration of Pause Ads for Google Ad Manager. The integration is set to help the broadcaster diversify its revenue streams across its streaming platforms.
Pause Ads enables advertisements to appear on screen when viewers pause the playout on their device, and the integration across the Virgin Media Player has so far resulted in a 39 per cent increase in “monetisable digital ad space” for the company.
“The development of a Pause Ads integration with Google Ads Manager is a result of a creative collaboration across both teams to deliver new and innovative revenue opportunities for Virgin Media,” said Ian Byrne, director of digital and commercial enterprises at Virgin Media Television.
“Alongside this, we were able to roll out its seamless integration to users which for us, was a core requirement when we embarked on this journey with Google. The technical and strategic support we have received from Google throughout this process has been exceptional and central to the success we have seen so far.”
Virgin Media has also undertaken a full scale ad migration to Google Ad Manager 360 “in order to maximise the value of its commercial breaks”. The company said that by working closely with its Google team, it was able to use the platform to seamlessly leverage Google’s demand on its ad space in the best possible way both for the business and its customers.
“We were delighted to partner with Virgin Media as they embarked on this journey to revolutionise their approach to digital advertising,” explained Kieran Greene, strategic partner manager, Google Ireland. “This collaborative work, which resulted in the rollout of Pause Ads, in addition to the migration to our ad management platform, highlights how Google can enable businesses to seamlessly and effectively integrate innovative ad tools that drive revenue and guarantee viewer satisfaction.”
