The subhead on the press release explains the goal—“Lightningcast and AOL’s Advertising.com Join Forces to Form Leading Video Advertising Network.” AOL’s acquisition of DC-based Lightningcast closed May 17; as has been the case with other recent AOL buys, CEO Tom MacIsaac and the staff of 34 will stay on. Formerly privately held, it will now be a subsidary of Advertising.com. No financial terms.
Why would AOL want Lightningcast? AOL has used the company’s broadband ad insertion and campaign management technology since 2002, first for AOL Radio and now AOL Video and In2TV. Advertising.com’s own new pre-roll video network will merge into The InStream Network, which will have 300 sites and 175 million monthly streams. Lots more detail in the release. Advertising.com falls under Mike Kelly’s AOL Media Networks.
ClickZ: Immediate plans call for Lightningcast and Advertising.com to capitalize on existing opportunities in the market with their combined strengths, MacIsaac said. Future products that Lightningcast has already been exploring include solutions for wireless, mobile, and podcast ads, he said.
Update: Ted Leonsis, vice chairman, AOL: “Today we announced the acquisition of a company called Lightningcast that will help accelerate our growth in the rapidly growing arena of video advertising. ... Lightningcast will help AOL monetize those video streams, both for our own content and on a much larger network of sites across the Web.”