Octave, News UK’s audio-visual advertising platform, is launching direct sales of audio advertising on YouTube across News UK’s content on the platform.
Octave has previously directly sold video advertising against News UK’s YouTube channels for brands such as Virgin Radio and talkSPORT as part of its long-standing relationship with YouTube. Octave is now selling audio advertising against talkSPORT’s content, such as podcasts and livestreams, on YouTube.
YouTube is an important extension channel for News UK and Octave, generating a record 137.7 million views in June alone, including 81 million views of talkSPORT’s World Cup content. Octave sells ad inventory around News UK content on YouTube whilst offering clients an integrated advertising proposition across owned and partner channels.
Russell Pedrick, Managing Director, Octave, said: “We’re always looking at new and innovative ways to deliver compelling audio advertising and YouTube’s Audio Ads have real potential to tap into a new and valuable audience. By bringing audio advertising to a predominantly video-based platform, we can reach people with different need states through the power of audio at times where they may want a screen-less environment.
Including YouTube’s audio impressions in our portfolio helps to drive incremental value, reach and performance for clients and helps us to better monetise our content on the platform.”
Alison Lomax, Managing Director, YouTube UKI, said: “News UK and Octave are valued partners for YouTube in the UK, bringing premium content to deeply engaged audiences across some of the country’s most trusted media brands. Their investment in talent and communities around brands such as talkSPORT, Times Radio and Virgin Radio UK has created a powerful ecosystem that gives audiences a seamless experience across watching and listening. We’re excited to see them build on this success by opening up even more premium audio opportunities for UK advertisers, helping brands connect with engaged audiences in new and compelling ways.”
