Israeli content recommendation startup Taboola is to acquire ConvertMedia a recommendation engine designed specifically to recommend online videos. No financial details about the deal were disclosed but Israeli sources estimate the acquisition is for $15-20 million. While TechCrunch citing sources that say the price ‘is in the very high double-digit millions, just under $100 million.’
ConvertMedia’s investors included Spark Capital and Pitango (the latter also being an investor in Taboola).The company was generating around $50 million in annualised revenue prior to the deal.
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Following the acquisition, ConvertMedia’s video technology will fully integrate with Taboola’s data and personalization engine, currently reaching over billion people a month, to help publishers deliver relevant and viewable experiences to the right user at the right time.
Taboola says that the acquisition will position its native offering to drive better user experiences as well as holistic monetization for publishers seeking to add high-quality video supply. Utilizing Taboola’s personalization technology, which currently reaches more than 1 billion unique visitors monthly, Taboola will be able to deliver video content at the moment when consumers are most apt to viewing. At the same time, TV budgets are rapidly moving to digital, but premium video supply is still scarce, with advertisers seeking to work with technology partners that can offer premium inventory and scalable platforms. Taboola will provide a full native ad funnel for its partners, combining in-article recommendations and native video.
Taboola founder and CEO Adam Singolda said, “The open web is divided into two – walled gardens and everything else – and while social companies have seen huge growth in video viewership, it’s time to bring that success to the open web, and to premium publishers all around the world. I believe that the future of publishers’ cross-screen monetization is two-fold: first, content recommendations using image, title and URL, and second, video. We are excited to offer publishers the full funnel, leveraging data and personalization to create experiences that are enjoyable for users and drive revenue growth for publishers.”
Taboola Native, already being used by NBCNews, The Independent, Reader’s Digest and many others, is a white label version of Taboola’s predictive technology. It enables sales teams to index and recommend branded content items, matching each user with the most relevant and impactful piece of content at the right time, throughout the acquisition funnel. With the addition of ConvertMedia, Taboola’s Native platform will also include the most extensive portfolio of video outstream formats available in the market for publishers. The new video integration will include full customization options for publishers to control delivery and related price points to balance between the user experience and revenue.
ConvertMedia cofounder and CEO Yoav Naveh said, “There is a natural synergy between the vision, technology and culture at Taboola and ConvertMedia. With the growth in ad blocking and banner blindness, advertisers and publishers need to reach consumers with relevant and viewable experiences at scale. The natural integration with Taboola allows us to better help publishers navigate the balance between user experience and quality controls, while exceeding revenue goals. We’re excited to give publishers unprecedented scale to reach consumers with new information and experiences, and help build out the content discovery category.”
Some of Taboola’s publisher partners already using ConvertMedia’s video technology include: Tribune Media, Salon, The Hill, American Media, Inc. (publisher of Radar Online, OK! Magazine, and Men’s Fitness), TheBlaze, Reader’s Digest, and TEGNA.
