Google Announces New Global Strategic Relationship With Disney

Google and Disney are joining hands in the face of more modern and fast-paced entertainment wherein TV content is no longer boxed in hefty display systems designed for living rooms.

The search engine giant announced Tuesday that it has entered a new global strategic relationship with The Walt Disney Company. The deal aims to bring Disney’s ads on every screen possible. However, the two companies are reimagining the commercial break by delivering “relevant, seamless and measurable” promotions across screens.

To realize the project, Disney is bringing its entire global digital video and display business onto Google’s online advertisement service brand, aptly called Google Ad Manager. The latter will serve as Disney’s core ad technology platform moving forward.

With this new partnership, Google is going to power advertising for Disney’s brands and properties, which include Disney, ABC, ESPN, Pixar, Marvel and many more. This means Google will be in charge of advertising on Disney’s multiple channels and content on various platforms.

Disney will henceforth be able to effortlessly put video ads on the web and in mobile apps. The mass media company would also be able to serve ads on streaming services via connected TVs and even for live events.

According to Disney Direct-To-Consumer and International CTO Aaron LaBerge, Google will serve ads in ESPN+, the sports-focused streaming subscription service that was launched earlier this year. On the other hand, there are currently no plans to put ads in Disney+, the streaming service that is slated for 2019 launch.

Meanwhile, Hulu won’t be affected by the pact Google and Disney made even though Disney owns 30 percent of the television network and is expected to gain majority control over Hulu when it purchases 20th Century Fox. This is because Hulu has its own ad-tech platform.

“Together, we plan to build an advanced video experience for Disney that will transcend devices, platforms, and living rooms to bring the magic of premium video content into people’s hearts, minds and screens — everywhere,” Google said.

Both Google and Disney confirmed to Variety that the global strategic partnership is a “multiyear” deal. However, the two declined to disclose the length of the deal and the amount of money involved.