• Magnite, a leading independent supply-side ad platform (SSP), announced that it had signed a partnership with NewsGuard, a firm that rates news sources for credibility and transparency. The partnership is expected to improve brand safety and quality of Magnite’s ad inventory.   

• Founded by an award-winning journalist and former publisher of the Wall Street Journal, NewsGuard provides credibility ratings developed by a team of journalists covering thousands of news and information sources. The firm claims that its sources cover 95% of online engagement across the US, UK, Canada, Germany, France, and Italy.

• As part of the arrangement, Magnite will have access to NewsGuard’s detailed trust ratings. This is expected to allow Magnite to better assess the credibility of news-oriented inventory and help prevent the monetization of misinformation and disinformation on its platforms. However, Magnite’s share price fell by ~14% subsequent to the announcement.

<ul><li> Analyst QuickTake: The collaboration with NewsGuard is likely to support Magnite’s intention to grow its presence in the connected TV (CTV) market, where issues over brand safety might be of particular concern. The need for this is reinforced by the strong growth the firm experienced in Q1 2022 where CTV grew by 253% YoY and accounted for ~40% of total ex-TAC revenue.</ul>