Comcast’s Universal Ads Expands to Even More Top Publishers, Democratizing Access to Premium Video for Advertisers of All Sizes

Universal Ads, which enables brands of any size to seamlessly create, buy, and measure ads across the premium video category, announced a new round of leading publishers have joined the platform, further strengthening the ability for brands to reach new, qualified audiences at scale, all in one place. The new publishers include Estrella MediaCo, Fuse Media, LG Ad Solutions, Scripps, Spectrum Reach, and Vizio. They join the first round announced at the launch of Universal Ads in January: A+E, AMC Networks, DIRECTV, Fox Corporation, NBCUniversal, Paramount, Roku, TelevisaUnivision, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Xumo.

“With its sight, sound, and emotion, it is hard to compare to the impactful ad experience of brand-safe video on the big screen. Yet for many e-commerce and digitally native brands, TV advertising has been out of reach without an easy way to buy it,” said Melissa Greenberg, Head of Partnerships and Product Solutions, Universal Ads. “Now, with Universal Ads, these growth companies can connect with their target audiences in a frictionless way, with access to premium content from more than 15 top publishers, and more to come.”

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With Universal Ads, a self-service ads platform built on top of FreeWheel’s ad technology, advertisers have access to scaled audiences across premium publishers from a single point of entry, making it as easy as buying across social media. In addition, publishers who are Universal Ads partners can build their own storefront, which is a branded landing page where a publisher is able to merchandise their own media packages. This allows advertisers to buy media directly from the publisher and run ads within their inventory only, without any fees for the advertiser or publisher.

“Scripps is proud to join forces with Universal Ads to advance the visibility of women’s sports on ION and create high-value opportunities for advertisers to engage with passionate, growing, and multicultural audiences across our platform,” said Brian Norris, Chief Revenue Officer at Scripps. “This collaboration offers small and medium-sized businesses a strategic gateway to tap into our audiences through highly targeted, real-time advertising in a premium content environment. By aligning with authentic fan experiences, brands can build meaningful connections, drive measurable impact, and thrive in a space that is rapidly reshaping the future of women’s sports media.”

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“Hispanic and Black multicultural segments represent $5.1 trillion to the USA GDP. Universal Ads gives Estrella MediaCo and small businesses another bridge to reaching these vital multicultural customers through our rapidly growing premium video marketplace,” said René Santaella, Chief Operating Officer, MediaCo.

Premium video remains the strongest medium for advertisers in terms of its engaging ad environments, brand safety, transparency, and performance it delivers. For instance, in a survey of over 250 advertisers who have not yet bought TV or have only done so minimally, 66% felt that premium TV inventory is an effective path to brand awareness and credibility.

“As a minority-owned company, Fuse Media proudly stands as a premier diverse-owned partner for cross-cultural audience targeting on the Universal Ads platform,” said Jim Keller, Chief Revenue Officer at Fuse Media. “Through Fuse’s owned and operated channels plus our Culture Collective portfolio that reaches over 52 million unique monthly viewers across 30+ channels, we are bringing scalable access to the growth engine of America: young, multicultural audiences who are shaping culture and driving consumption. We’re excited to join this group of premium partners to help SMB brands gain unprecedented access to ad inventory and connect in culture with today’s consumers.”

This announcement of new publishers reflects Universal Ads’ mission to give more advertisers, such as growing brands, access to the premium video category. This includes creating an ecosystem of curated solutions from third party partners, from measurement and reporting to creative, in addition to meeting advertisers where they are, to make it easy for brands to advertise.

For example, Universal Ads has partnered with Measured, the pioneer and leader in incrementality-based measurement and optimization, to give brands insights into how their premium video ads are delivering on their business goals. Additionally, Universal Ads introduced an offering with Ramp, a financial operations platform designed to save businesses time and money, providing Ramp’s 30,000+ customers access to premium video inventory through the Universal Ads platform.

With these leading publishers and strategic partnerships, with more to come, Universal Ads is democratizing the premium video category and proving the performance power of TV advertising.