The expansion into connected TV further reinforces Blue Ant Media’s momentum in the fastest growing media segment
(Toronto, ON – September 29, 2022) – International producer, distributor and channel operator, Blue Ant Media announced today its acquisition of Media Pulse, the exclusive connected TV (CTV) marketplace in Canada which delivers measurable advertising strategies and enhanced revenue opportunities for both media buyers and publishers. Following Blue Ant’s ongoing global expansion in free streaming channels, the purchase is another sign of the company’s commitment to expand its activity in this rapidly growing media category. Media Pulse will become a stand alone entity under the Blue Ant Media umbrella, with Christopher Law and Deborah Gurofsky continuing to lead the company as Managing Director and VP, Partnerships, respectively, reporting directly to Mitch Dent, SVP, Media Sales & Group Publisher, Blue Ant Media in Toronto.
“The acquisition of Media Pulse underpins Blue Ant Media’s commitment to the CTV marketplace in Canada, which is undoubtedly the fastest growing media segment for advertiser investment,” says Mitch Dent, SVP, Media Sales & Group Publisher, Canada, Blue Ant Media. “We’ve been monitoring Media Pulse’s trajectory for a while, and their solid reputation and expertise make them the perfect partner for us to expand Blue Ant’s media sales portfolio. With Christopher and Deborah on board, we now have the capacity to enhance Blue Ant’s multi-channel campaign efforts for our clients, offering them a one-stop-shop of premium CTV inventory at scale.”
“We are excited with this acquisition as Blue Ant Media is uniquely positioned to provide Media Pulse a superior infrastructure and environment for accelerated growth,” says Christopher Law, CEO, Media Pulse. “Blue Ant’s assets will supercharge Media Pulse’s growth via connections with broadcast, digital, ad sales, Blue Ant Plus, etc. These resources and support will extend Media Pulse’s capabilities significantly, offering a greater ability to service our clients with the high-touch and custom approach we are known for in the connected television marketplace.”
Based in Canada, Media Pulse focuses specifically on aggregating and curating the most popular, broad and niche connected TV apps, platforms and multichannel video programming distributors (MVPD). Media Pulse’s CTV exchange is powered by Column6, an ad platform built for advanced CTV publishers across the Americas. In addition to Media Pulse, Blue Ant Media uses Column6 for CTV ad serving and ad break management for some of its FAST channel inventory.
According to eMarketer, 63% of Canadian households already own a CTV device and it is estimated that CTV households will grow to 82% globally by 2023. To date, Media Pulse sees 2.2 billion advertising impressions per month across CTV devices from its many direct-to-publisher relationships. The number of CTV viewers is growing rapidly in Canada, providing advertisers with a significant opportunity to reach audiences. In 2023, eMarketer reports CTV ad spending will surpass C$1 billion, up almost sevenfold from five years ago.
The acquisition of Media Pulse by Blue Ant Media further broadens the company’s capabilities and expertise in the Canadian media arena, enabling them to offer advertisers and agencies across the country access to a full range of platforms to build profile on CTV and free, ad-supported streaming (FAST) services, via direct sales or programmatically. Media Pulse will join Blue Ant Media’s existing advertiser offering, which includes targeted and customizable advertising solutions across its broadcast, print and digital brands such as T+E, Cottage Life, MobileSyrup and Animalogic. In the future, the acquisition of Media Pulse will open up further opportunities across Blue Ant Media’s wider business, including the company’s award-winning content studio Blue Ant Plus, which specializes in branded storytelling and content, enabling them to provide turn-key productions to agencies and clients in the CTV environment.
-30-
Blue Ant Media is a privately held, international content producer, distributor and channel operator. We own and operate numerous production companies in North America and Asia-Pacific, creating content for broadcasters and streaming platforms in multiple genres including factual entertainment, natural history, documentary and adult animation. Our distribution business, Blue Ant International, offers a substantial catalog of content, including one of the world’s largest 4K natural history offerings. Blue Ant Media operates linear and free streaming channels under several brands including Love Nature, Smithsonian Channel Canada, BBC Earth (Canada), BBC First (Canada), HauntTV, CrimeTime, Total Crime, Homeful and HistoryTime. Blue Ant Media is headquartered in Toronto, with seven international offices in Los Angeles, New York, Singapore, Tokyo, London, Washington and Beijing. Blueantmedia.com Twitter⼁Instagram⼁LinkedIn
Media Pulse is an exclusive Connected TV marketplace delivering measurable and business-impacting Connected TV advertising strategies for Canadian brands as well as enhanced revenue opportunities for media owners and publishers.
Notes to Editor:
Christopher Law leveraged 25 years of digital media management, leadership, sales, and marketing experience to establish Media Pulse, the only exclusive Connected TV advertising marketing place in Canada. A creative and strategic entrepreneur, Chris founded Media Pulse in April 2020 to provide brands with measurable, brand-impacting Connected TV advertising strategies and publishers the ability to monetize their inventories.
Before starting Media Pulse, Christopher was instrumental in bringing Shopper Marketing and Retail Media to Canada as an early partner and head of revenue development for Ad Splash Media. Evangelizing the importance and validity of advertising on ecommerce sites like Walmart.ca and Bestbuy.ca, was the mission. Success in bringing this value proposition to market led to Ad Splash Media being acquired by Mediative (a Yellow Pages Group company), completing a series of acquisitions resulting in the formation of Canada’s largest network of consumers who demonstrated significant intent-to-buy tendencies.
In this new role at Mediative, Christopher started as Senior Vice President of National Sales before advancing to Chief Revenue Officer, where he managed sales strategies and drove revenue growth by leading the integration of all company revenue-related functions.
Earlier in his career, Chris held a variety of executive and directorial sales and marketing positions at Cue Digital Media, Rogers Media, Bell Sympatico/MSN, Kontent Publishing, and Famous Players.
Christopher is a graduate of Concordia University and holds a Bachelor of Commerce.
Deborah Gurofsky is an innovative and strategic media leader, with over 11 years working in the Canadian Advertising and Media Industry. Deborah is co-founder and VP of Strategy for Media Pulse – the only marketplace and exchange in Canada focused exclusively on Connected TV. Through Media Pulse’s unique suite of CTV products, Deb helps clients develop CTV strategies that push the boundaries, while focusing on measurable success. Prior to Media Pulse, Deborah was at dentsu, where she led Integrated Media and Branded Content for General Motors and Proctor and Gamble. Deborah has also held senior strategy positions at a number of digital companies, including Olive Media.