Consolidation in Video Ad Space as Tremor Media Buys ScanScout

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Video ad company Tremor Media has acquired rival network ScanScout for an undisclosed sum. In a separate deal, online display network Undertone also announced the purchase of Jambo Media, representing further consolidation in the video ad space.

A merged Tremor Media and ScanScout entity will create the second largest online video ad company in the U.S., according to comScore, with the combined companies serving almost 680 million ads in September, second only to Hulu which served 794 million. Smaller competitor Jamba Media, meanwhile, served around 17 million ads in over the same period.

Tremor intends to roll ScanScout’s existing operations into its own, with the combined entity trading under the Tremor Media banner. Around 8 percent of ScanScout’s existing staff will be laid off as a result, according to PaidContent.

According to Tremor the motivation for the purchase was primarily the scale it would add to its existing network, enabling it to offer more granular targeting capabilities as a result. The company’s CEO Bill Day implied the acquisition won’t be the last the company makes in the near future. In a statement he said, “our strong balance sheet will enable us to be to be very aggressive in pursuit of expansion on all fronts.”

Undertone meanwhile hopes the expansion of its ad offerings will attract greater advertiser spend by giving them access to display and video inventory from a single platform. It also hopes to capitalize on the continued growth of the online video market, in which it says current and future demand currently “far outpaces supply.”

Tremor now has a total of 11 offices across North America and Europe, including operations in the U.K. and Germany as well as New York and California.