CBS announced that it will no longer work with third-party ad networks on its websites, which include CBS.com, TV.com, and CNET. The company will now sell its entire inventory on its own, Ad Age reports.
The move makes CBS, with 60 million unique visitors a month, the largest online publisher to publicly eschew ad networks. The company will now launch its own internal ad network for marketers who want to buy demographics or remnant display across CBS's network.
With its massive inventory, CBS will undoubtedly face some challenges during the transition, but officials said they can endure the worst. "We are prepared to take a step back on revenue if we have to, but over time we will monetize at a much better rate than ad networks do," said CBS Interactive CEO Neil Ashe.
Despite the move away from ad networks, CBS will still sell some display inventory on ad exchanges. The company is expected to offer inventory on Yahoo's Right Media Exchange and Google's DoubleClick, as well as agency-side exchanges like Publicis Groupe's Vivaki.
