News Corp acquired social video ad site Unruly on Wednesday in a $90 million cash deal, the two companies announced.
Unruly, launched in 2006, is an ad platform that tracks video shareability to better predict viability for advertisers. It has a data set of 2 trillion video views and uses historical video sharing behavior to predict what videos will go viral.
It will operate as a separate business unit reporting to News UK Chief Executive Rebekah Brooks. The acquisition continues a trend of technology acquisitions for News Corp; it added social video agency Storyful to its ranks in 2013.
“Unruly is a feisty and creative company with a start-up sensibility that fits perfectly with our own approach to developing businesses in the digital age,” NewsCorp CEO Robert Thomson said. “The acquisition will serve as a catalyst for our brands, helping to extend our expertise in the digital and mobile video area, whether through the fast-growing realtor.com® in the US, Fox Sports in Australia, News America Marketing, HarperCollins Publishers, or our market-leading mastheads around the world.”
“We have a track record of acquiring businesses with unique capabilities, allowing them the freedom to do what they do best, while providing a global platform to accelerate their growth and realize their potential.”
“We have always been pioneers in our field, so combining the formidable reach and resonance of our titles with their cutting-edge technology and video expertise will help accelerate our growth in this digital age,” Brooks said.
“We look forward to working with one of Europe’s most highly regarded tech teams to create new premium video inventory for our News UK mastheads and other businesses, and to provide advertisers with best-in-class brand solutions across all platforms.”