Rns... 9/5/1429 May 2014 10:10
("Johnston Press")
Sky and Johnston Press create innovative regional advertising partnership
Sky and Johnston Press today announce that they have entered into a ground-breaking strategic regional advertising partnership.
Under the terms of the agreement, Sky will make available its new product, Sky AdSmart local, to parts of Johnston Press' extensive sales network. Already available in more than a fifth of UK households, Sky AdSmart tailors what is shown in TV ad breaks according to a household's location and profile.
Johnston Press is the leading local media company in the UK and has a significant, established existing customer base of small and medium-sized enterprises. From June, local companies will be able to create and deliver powerful advertising campaigns that combine its extensive range of regional print titles and digital platforms with the use of Sky AdSmart local to create TV advertising focused on specific local markets.
The partnership will begin with two markets: the first of these covers Nottingham, Derby and Sheffield; and the second, Milton Keynes, Northampton and Peterborough. The Sky AdSmart team will work with Johnston Press' 1,600-strong advertising sales force to initially deliver campaigns across these markets. Sky chose to partner with Johnston Press after discussions with a number of other media companies.
Today, Johnston Press attracts an average monthly audience totalling 24.5 million across its extensive portfolio of newspapers, lifestyle magazines and local news and e-commerce websites.
Sky AdSmart has already been used by more than 100 advertisers since its launch. These include major national brands such as Tesco, Ocado and American Airlines but also local businesses who may have previously concluded advertising on TV wasn't for them. Local advertisers who have already signed up include insurance group First Central, Wessex Garages, BMI Hospitals and the Hampshire Ford dealership, Hendy.
With Sky AdSmart, Sky customers see more adverts that are more likely to be of interest to them and fewer that are not relevant. By removing many of the obstacles to accessing TV advertising that local advertisers currently face, such as the requirement for large budgets to cover whole regions, consumers can discover smaller, more local brands. It allows small and medium-sized enterprises to compete on a level playing field with larger national brands. In total, one quarter of the brands that have signed up for Sky AdSmart are either new to TV advertising or had previously left the market.
Sky has also today conditionally agreed to subscribe for 13,676,149 new ordinary shares in Johnston Press (the "Placing Shares") at the placing price of 17 pence per share and to taking up the rights associated with the Placing Shares for which it has subscribed in Johnston Press' rights issue, as notified by Johnston Press in a separate announcement today. The total investment to be made by Sky unde
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