The McClatchy newspaper group has sold its Real Cities ad network to Centro, a technology firm that specializes in streamlining local advertising.

The deal gives Centro access to relationships with advertisers and agencies that have been working with Real Cities, but it won't exactly make Centro an ad network because the firm isn't planning to pick up the publisher contracts, according to a ClickZ report.

Centro CEO Shawn Riegsecker said the ad network model, which usually only gives advertisers access to remnant inventory, isn't one he sees a lot of demand for on the agency side.

If successful, the deal will allow Centro to pair its streamlined buying technology with the long-established newspaper/advertiser relationships. That could be a boon for newspapers, which have been scrambling to find revenue in the digital age. But the deal should also allow national advertisers to more efficiently reach users with premium ads in the local papers.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.