Xandr, Inc. (pronounced "Zander") is the

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

and

analytics Analytics is the systematic computational analysis of data or statistics. It is used for the discovery, interpretation, and communication of meaningful patterns in data. It also entails applying data patterns toward effective decision-making. It ...

subsidiary of

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation, multinational technology company, technology corporation producing Software, computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at th ...

, which operates an online platform, ''Community'', for buying and selling consumer-centric digital advertising. In December 2021,

AT&T AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile tel ...

announced that they had agreed to sell Xandr (including AppNexus and Clypd) to Microsoft for an undisclosed price. The acquisition was completed in June 2022.

History

Following its June 2018 acquisition of AppNexus, Xandr was formed by

to construct a national TV advertising marketplace. Xandr was launched, on September 25, 2018, at its inaugural AT&T Relevance Conference, in Santa Barbara, California, and was named after its parent company founder,

Alexander Graham Bell Alexander Graham Bell (, born Alexander Bell; March 3, 1847 – August 2, 1922) was a Scottish-born inventor, scientist and engineer who is credited with patenting the first practical telephone. He also co-founded the American Telephone and T ...

."AT&T Ad Unit Now Called ‘Xandr’ in Nod to Alexander Graham Bell" by Scott Moritz and Lucas Shaw; ''Bloomberg''; September 25, 2018. Accessed May 21, 2019.
/ref> In June 2019, Xandr rebranded its AppNexus DSP, launching Xandr Invest, to serve as its central ad-buying hub. On October 18, 2019, Xandr acquired Massachusetts-based Clypd, an audience-based sales platform for television advertising. On April 30, 2020, it was folded into

WarnerMedia Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States. It was originally established in 1972 by ...

. Rumors and speculation spread in 2020 that AT&T was seeking to sell and offload Xandr, along with

DirecTV DirecTV (trademarked as DIRECTV) is an American Multichannel television in the United States, multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California, El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary ...

and Crunchyroll. The reasoning is twofold: first, AT&T took on immense debt to purchase WarnerMedia, and any non-core asset sales would help pay off that debt burden. Secondly, Xandr was inherently compromised by its association with AT&T and

HBO Max HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Netwo ...

, as many would-be advertisers were reluctant to use what is essentially a competitor for their ad buys, and as such it might be more lucrative on its own. On May 17, 2021, it was announced that WarnerMedia would be merged with

Discovery, Inc. Discovery, Inc. was an American multinational mass media factual television conglomerate based in New York City. Established in 1985, the company operated a group of factual and lifestyle television brands, such as the namesake Discovery Channe ...

to form a new publicly traded company known as Warner Bros. Discovery, but that the Xandr business would not be included in the transaction and would remain a division of AT&T. On December 21, 2021, AT&T announced that they had agreed to sell Xandr (including AppNexus and Clypd) to

for an undisclosed price, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory reviews. On June 6, 2022, Microsoft completed the acquisition of Xandr to bolster its advertising and retail media business, for about USD $1 billion.

Leadership

Xandr is led by Mike Welch, after the departure in March 2020 by former GroupM North America CEO Brian Lesser, who was appointed chief executive officer of AT&T advertising and analytics in 2017. Kirk McDonald, who served as interim CEO following Lesser's departure, moved to GroupM, a subsidiary of

WPP WPP may refer to: * WPP plc, a British multinational advertising and public relations company * WPP domain, a protein domain found in plants * Wavefront parallel processing, a video coding technique * White Patriot Party The White Patriot Part ...

, in August 2020.

Operations

In May 2019, Xandr launched Community, its new video marketplace that connects advertisers, publishers, and consumer media brands, including AT&T's former

(now

Warner Bros. Discovery Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (WBD) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at 230 Park Avenue South in New York City. It was formed after the spin-off of WarnerMedia by AT&T, and its merger with Di ...

) platforms: CNN, TNT,

TruTV TruTV (stylized as truTV) is an American basic cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The channel primarily broadcasts comedy, docusoaps and reality shows. The channel was originally launched in 1991 as Court TV, a network that f ...

, B/R Live, and Otter Media. Other media on the Community platform includes

Vice Media Vice Media Group LLC is an American-Canadian digital media and broadcasting company. , the Vice Media Group included five main business areas: VICE.com (digital content); VICE STUDIOS (film and TV production) VICE TV (also known as VICELAND); ...

Hearst Communications Hearst Communications, Inc., often referred to simply as Hearst, is an American multinational mass media and business information conglomerate based in Hearst Tower in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Hearst owns newspapers, magazines, televi ...

, Newsy,

Philo Philo of Alexandria (; grc, Φίλων, Phílōn; he, יְדִידְיָה, Yəḏīḏyāh (Jedediah); ), also called Philo Judaeus, was a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria, in the Roman province of Egypt. Philo's dep ...

, Tubi, and

Xumo Xumo ( ) is an American over-the-top internet television service owned by Comcast. Founded in 2011, it offers a free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) and advertising video on demand (AVOD) service that primarily offers a selection of p ...

, Vudu, and

Bloomberg Bloomberg may refer to: People * Daniel J. Bloomberg (1905–1984), audio engineer * Georgina Bloomberg (born 1983), professional equestrian * Michael Bloomberg (born 1942), American businessman and founder of Bloomberg L.P.; politician and ...

. The fee-transparent, consumer-centric Xandr advertising model combines data, AT&T’s then newly acquired

content, AppNexus, and other proprietary advertising technology, to integrate with AT&T’s consumer network, creating the first personalized advertising of its kind, with different commercials being delivered to different viewers simultaneously. During its first year, Xandr’s revenue was mainly derived from

sales. The company has approximately 1800 employees, including 60 in Europe.

References

External links

* {{Microsoft Analytics companies Digital marketing companies of the United States American companies established in 2018 2018 establishments in New York City Advertising agencies based in New York City Marketing companies established in 2018 Online advertising services and affiliate networks Former AT&T subsidiaries Microsoft acquisitions Microsoft subsidiaries 2022 mergers and acquisitions