Disney sells off ad business TrueX

Disney has announced the sale of TrueX to Gimbal.

The company acquired the ad-tech firm as a part of its US$71.3 billion takeover of Fox, with reports initially emerging that Disney was looking to offload TrueX in March. Now it has found a buyer in the form of PaeDae-owned Gimbal – a firm which provides ad services and location-based tech – for what is believed to be less than US$100 million.

The ad-tech company built its name off its vide-ad technology which presents users with an option to interact with an advert in exchange for watching fewer ads. The idea is that this improves ad effectiveness and the user experience of watching ad-supported content – an ideal win-win for viewers and advertisers alike.

Gimbal CEO Rob Emrich said that the acquisition will allow it to improve its position in advanced TV advertising, including addressable TV – which is set to exceed US$3.6 billion by 2022.

The deal represents a loss on Fox’s initial US$200 million purchase in 2014, at a time when big media conglomerates like AT&T and Comcast were looking to capitalise on the growing ad business.

For its part, Disney has evidently shown little interest in the ad tech business, with the company considering it as a noncore asset for some time. While its Hulu streamer has an ad-supported tier, its primary D2C product – Disney+ – has no such component and is not likely to be offered with ads.