Disney Simplifies Streaming Inventory Access for Advertisers

In a first-ever expansion of the Disney Real-Time Ad Exchange (DRAX), Disney has created a direct path to advertiser demand with two of the most scaled media buying platforms in the marketplace – Google's Display & Video 360 and The Trade Desk. Through the launch of DRAX Direct, Disney has delivered a new level of automation to marketers, by unifying access to streaming inventory across Hulu and Disney+ for advertisers of all sizes.

"Disney's goal is to empower advertisers to transact with the freedom and flexibility that best suits their business needs," said Jamie Power, Senior Vice President, Addressable Sales, Disney Advertising. "Years ago, we committed to a vision and strategy of delivering 50% of our advertising in an addressable and automated way. Owning our own technology stack allows us to build a direct path between our premium inventory and the leading media buying platforms in the industry, simplifying the way ads are bought and sold on Disney, while delivering greater effectiveness for our clients."

The evolution of Disney's Real-Time Ad Exchange creates a closer connection to advertisers and industry-leading technology platforms, while providing the most advanced capabilities in streaming. With the launch of DRAX Direct, Disney is unlocking more incremental demand by building a direct path with the buy side, resulting in a seamless and more effective experience for brands.

DRAX Direct enables greater control and flexibility for advertisers by bringing Disney's proprietary technology stack together with two of the largest buy-side technology platforms in the industry, setting the stage for a simpler, streamlined approach to addressable buying across Disney's streaming portfolio, including Hulu and Disney+.

"For over a decade, Google and Disney have collaborated on industry-leading ad innovations that drive results for customers. We are excited to expand on this relationship to bring Display & Video 360 demand to DRAX, providing our advertisers with a new way to directly purchase Disney's high-quality CTV inventory and reach their audience with privacy-forward solutions," said Stephen Yap, Managing Director Americas, Google Marketing Platform.

A custom integration between DRAX and The Trade Desk's OpenPath technology reinforces growing demand from advertisers to have direct access to more addressable premium content with better precision and transparency.

"Expanding our partnership with Disney Advertising underscores a shared vision to maximize the value of relevant advertising, especially at a moment when the industry needs it the most," said Will Doherty, Vice President, Inventory Development, The Trade Desk. "We set up the building blocks when we forged our collaboration to create a new identity fabric for the open internet through Unified ID 2.0 interoperability with Disney's Audience Graph. We're continuing to innovate together by creating a custom integration between our OpenPath technology and DRAX in service of advertisers and to help drive transparency in digital media buying, as we navigate an increasingly complicated digital landscape."

Disney's Real-Time Ad Exchange launched as part of Disney's advertising technology platform in March 2021, offering an innovative solution that democratized access to the most premium video inventory. By centralizing advertisers' video demand, Disney created parity between direct sold and programmatic deals – allowing them to compete on an equal playing field. What this translates to for advertisers is simplified, streamlined buying.

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