AOL Acquires Third Screen Media

AOL announced today that it has acquired Third Screen Media, the leading mobile advertising network and mobile ad-serving and management platform provider. Third Screen Media will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of AOL’s Advertising.com division.

“AOL is one of only four at-scale advertising businesses on the Internet, and the acquisition of Third Screen Media gives us a very strong position in the fast-growing mobile space,” said Randy Falco, Chairman and CEO of AOL. “It also lets us offer advertisers a more complete set of solutions, from display advertising to search and now a superior set of mobile solutions.”

Third Screen Media connects advertisers, publishers and mobile phone carriers on a common platform, allowing ads to be managed and delivered via WAP, downloadable applications, SMS, MMS and mobile video. Dozens of leading brand advertisers, more than a hundred mobile Web publishers, and major wireless carriers participate in the Third Screen Media network.

“Advertising.com has always set itself apart through our award-winning technologies, our industry-leading display advertising network and our comprehensive suite of solutions,” said Lynda Clarizio, president of Advertising.com. “Third Screen Media is the perfect complement to these core differentiators, offering the same unique advantages in the mobile marketplace. From display advertising to video advertising to mobile advertising, this acquisition firmly positions Advertising.com as the one-stop shop for online advertisers and publishers.”

The acquisition comes as the mobile advertising industry is growing exponentially. In the U.S., mobile advertising is expected to grow from $421 million in 2006 to $4.7 billion by 2011, while globally the market is expected to increase to $11.3 billion by the same year, according to eMarketer.

“This acquisition brings together two pioneers in the interactive advertising space,” said Thomas Burgess, founder and chief executive officer of Third Screen Media. “Advertising.com has long been the advertising network to watch, and Third Screen Media broke new ground in the mobile advertising space with our pioneering technology and industry-leading mobile network. Together, we can now offer advertisers and publishers a comprehensive suite of interactive advertising solutions for every type of device, platform and program.”

Third Screen Media will continue to be headquartered in Boston. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Other recent corporate acquisitions by AOL include Relegence Corporation in November 2006; Userplane in August 2006; Lightningcast, Inc. in May 2006; Truveo, Inc. in December 2005; Weblogs, Inc. in October 2005; and Xdrive, Inc. and Wildseed, Ltd. in August 2005. AOL acquired Advertising.com in June 2004.