NBCUniversal, a leading global media and technology company, today unveiled a ground-breaking new partnership with Anzu.io, one of the most advanced in-game advertising platforms, further enriching NBCUniversal’s capabilities in growing entertainment arenas like gaming and esports.

In addition, NBCUniversal announced it has made a small investment in the AdTech startup that, alongside its partnership with Anzu, will unlock an array of new opportunities for its clients and partners around the world.

The strategic partnership enlists NBCUniversal as Anzu’s global sales partner and the exclusive third-party seller in the US and UK. Now, NBCUniversal’s marketing partners will be able to run non-intrusive, in-game ads across Anzu’s cross-platform gaming inventory— which spans mobile, PC, and consoles—and use interactive, data-driven, contextual, and programmatic in-game advertising solutions, all with the high standards of privacy and brand safety they’ve come to expect from NBCUniversal’s One Platform.

Partners will also have access to Anzu’s full suite of leading AdTech integrations as well as its robust measurement—including ad viewability, brand lift measurement, audience verification, data enrichment, and fraud detection—powered by Anzu’s partnerships with trusted industry leaders like Moat, Comscore, Human, Lumen, and Kochava.

"NBCUniversal continues to reach consumers at scale on any platform and on every screen. In addition to CTV, gaming is the fastest-growing way to reach young audiences. This partnership with Anzu will allow our marketers to engage with an audience of over three billion gamers worldwide, and we’re only getting started."

- Krishan Bhatia, President & Chief Business Officer, NBCUniversal

"We’re excited to bring our best-in-class tech and exclusive inventory to one of the world’s leading ad sales teams. This new partnership means more brands and agencies will be able to take advantage of our solution to reach an engaged and untapped audience within the world’s most popular titles while preserving the gamer experience. We also believe, over the next few years, most Fortune 500 brands will incorporate gaming into their ad strategies and the partnership with NBCUniversal brings us a step closer to this becoming a reality."

- Itamar Benedy, Co-Founder & CEO, Anzu

As part of the deal, Anzu will be able to access the power of NBCUniversal’s One Platform, including its client and agency relationships, and marketing teams. Meanwhile, Anzu’s cross-platform ad monetization solution will help game developers generate significant revenue while respecting their players and adding to the overall gaming experience.

This is the latest partnership announcement that comes in the run-up to NBCUniversal’s tech developer conference, ONE22, taking place on March 22nd, where the company is expected to announce further enhancements in the data, technology, and measurement space.

This article was originally posted to The Drum on February 28th, 2022.