BBC Worldwide is giving online advertising network DoubleClick the task of serving up ads to users of the forthcoming BBC.com, even though the European Commission and America’s Federal Trade Commission are yet to ratify the company’s acquisition by Google. It’s an extension of DoubleClick’s deal under which it already powers display and pre-roll advertising on BBC World and BBC magazine sites. The new site, designed for non-UK users by the revenue-raising BBC subsidiary, was green-lighted by the BBC Trust last week and advertising will start in November.
DoubleClick will work with BBC Worldwide’s own sales team, NMA says. But the network’s technology works by installing a cookie that tracks websites users visit in order to profile audiences – it’s now yet clear how much of the inventory will be managed by BBC Worldwide itself. It’s known ads will be served only to those outside the UK, using geographical IP filtering from Quova. The content BBC Worldwide wants to bring under the BBC.com banner is already getting 40 million unique monthly users from overseas.