Paramount Australia has struck a partnership with FreeWheel, a global technology platform in the premium video advertising industry, to provide a single-entry point for advertisers to engage in total TV planning, trading, and measurement via Paramount Connect.

As was revealed at the recent Paramount Upfronts event series, the media giant has been working towards a converged trading approach through an advertising technology it's dubbing Paramount Connect. First tested in the US, it gives advertisers and agencies a view across linear, BVOD, SVOD, AVOD and FAST assets to target the 16.1 million Australians Paramount claims to now reach via its ecosystem.

The latest Freewheel collaboration is toured as a significant step in the evolution of TV advertising, offering a unified digital ecosystem for advertisers. The Paramount+ ad tier has already migrated to the FreeWheel technology platform, with 10 Play set to integrate in January 2025. This move signifies the first phase of Paramount Connect and access to a unified digital ecosystem. The partnership extends Paramount’s proven global technology strategy and is set to meet local Australian market requirements.

FreeWheel’s advertising platform streamlines and connects how ads are managed and delivered, providing greater control and transparency to maximise the impact of advertiser investment. The platform enables the Paramount Connect gateway, providing advertisers with access to high-quality, scalable, and addressable audiences. Advertisers will also have greater inventory control and flexibility, plus the capacity for advanced contextual, premium, and dynamic ad experiences.

"Our strategic partnership with FreeWheel aligns with our global vision to deliver unified advertising experiences for advertisers with cutting-edge, powerful and fit-for-purpose technology that harnesses the unique attributes of both digital and linear TV," Lee Sears, President International Markets Ad Sales at Paramount, stated. "Its successful implementation in the UK, US and Canada has delivered significant media efficiencies and effectiveness for our advertisers that we know will also benefit the Australian market."

Tess O’Brien, Managing Director, Australia & New Zealand on behalf of FreeWheel, expressed her excitement about the partnership, "At FreeWheel, we are focused on helping brands and agencies tap into the incredible potential of total TV advertising and reduce the complexity in today’s TV ecosystem, while also giving publishers the tools and control to effectively monetise their content. Our integrated ad management platform allows publishers to do just that – holistically consider the full pool of demand and effectively drive advertising outcomes for advertisers."

Rod Prosser, Chief Sales Officer at Paramount Australia, highlighted the benefits of the partnership. "FreeWheel enables the Paramount Connect gateway providing advertisers with access to high quality, scalable and addressable audiences, viewing our vast library of unrivalled global and local premium content, across our unified streaming platforms. Starting with our digital ecosystem initially, with linear to follow soon, advertisers will also have greater inventory control and flexibility plus capacity for advanced contextual, premium and dynamic ad experiences."

Paramount Australia will host a series of agency engagement sessions to explore the technology and its unique opportunities and discuss advertisers’ needs.

"Our primary focus is on educating stakeholders and collaborating with our partners to ideate effectively so they can fully grasp the scale of the opportunity with Paramount Connect and obtain maximum benefit," Prosser added.