Taboola Expands Partnership with Gannett to Bolster Realize Offering, Empowering Performance Advertisers to Connect with Consumers Across Entirety of Gannett Properties

Rhea-AI Summary

Taboola (TBLA) has announced an expansion of its long-term partnership with Gannett, enhancing its Realize offering for performance advertisers. The partnership, which began in 2013, now enables advertisers to access display inventory across Gannett's digital properties, including USA TODAY and over 200 local publications in the USA TODAY Network.

The expanded partnership introduces Realize, a new AI-powered performance engine that optimizes ad campaigns across Taboola's publisher network. The system leverages unique data from Taboola's code-on-page integrations with publishers to enhance ad placement and optimization.

Positive

• Expansion into display advertising market through Gannett partnership
• Access to premium inventory across USA TODAY and 200+ local publications
• Enhanced ad targeting capabilities through proprietary AI and first-party data

Negative

• None.

Insights

Digital Advertising & Media Expert

Taboola's expanded Gannett partnership brings valuable display ad inventory to its Realize platform, strengthening its market position beyond native recommendations.

This expanded partnership between Taboola and Gannett marks a significant strategic evolution for Taboola's business model. Historically positioned as a content recommendation platform since their initial 2013 partnership, Taboola is now extending beyond native advertising into traditional display advertising inventory through its Realize offering.

The strategic value here is multi-faceted. By gaining access to premium advertising real estate across USA TODAY and 200+ local publications, Taboola substantially expands its addressable market. The company is effectively leveraging existing publisher relationships to create new revenue streams beyond its core recommendation business.

What's particularly noteworthy is Taboola's competitive positioning around first-party data. Their "code-on-page integrations" with publishers provide unique signal data for ad optimization - an increasingly valuable asset as third-party cookies phase out. This first-party data advantage powers their AI performance engine, creating a differentiated offering for performance advertisers seeking alternatives to walled gardens.

For Gannett, this partnership delivers enhanced monetization options across their digital portfolio, helping support their digital transformation efforts. The language from Gannett's SVP highlighting "audience development, engagement, and monetization" suggests the partnership delivers value beyond simple advertising revenue.

This expansion represents Taboola's strategic pivot toward becoming a more comprehensive advertising platform rather than solely a content discovery engine - potentially broadening their advertiser base and strengthening their competitive position in the digital advertising ecosystem.

NEW YORK, April 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Taboola (Nasdaq: TBLA), a global leader in delivering performance at scale for advertisers, today announced an update to its long-term partnership with Gannett Co. Inc. (NYSE: GCI), a diversified media company with expansive reach across the country including USA TODAY and over 200 local publications throughout the USA TODAY Network.

Since 2013, Taboola has partnered with Gannett by powering recommendations across Gannett’s digital properties. Now, as part of Taboola’s expansion beyond native and into performance, Taboola has deepened its partnership with Gannett to offer performance advertisers access to display inventory on Gannett properties with Realize.

For the first time ever, Realize allows advertisers to tap into display and even more parts of Taboola’s large network of publishers, apps and OEMs. Realize is powered by an AI performance engine that finds the best opportunities for campaigns across Taboola’s network of trusted publishers and apps. This AI performance engine is powered by the unique data advantage of Taboola’s code-on-page integrations with publishers, giving it signal unlike any other open web platform to use when optimizing and placing ads.

“We’re proud to work closely with Taboola and look forward to expanding our relationship further through Realize,” said Tim Wolfe, Senior Vice President of Revenue Operations at Gannett. “Our long-standing collaboration has shown them to be a strategic partner across the board, driving audience development, engagement, and monetization.“

“We’ve had a long and productive history working with Gannett, partnering closely for mutual growth,” said Adam Singolda, CEO of Taboola. “Through this expanded partnership, we’re providing performance advertisers with greater access to drive results on trusted sites, using Realize. Our deepened partnership with Gannett is yet another proof point of how we’re combining the best first-party data, AI, and distribution capabilities that performance advertisers need.”

About Taboola
Taboola empowers businesses to grow through performance advertising technology that goes beyond search and social and delivers measurable outcomes at scale. Taboola works with thousands of businesses who advertise directly on Realize, Taboola’s powerful ad platform, reaching approximately 600M daily active users across some of the best publishers in the world. Publishers like NBC News, Yahoo, and OEMs such as Samsung, Xiaomi and others use Taboola’s technology to grow audience and revenue, enabling Realize to offer unique data, specialized algorithms, and unmatched scale.

About Gannett
Gannett Co., Inc. is a diversified media company with expansive reach at the national and local level dedicated to empowering and enriching communities. We seek to inspire, inform, and connect audiences as a sustainable, growth focused media and digital marketing solutions company. Through our trusted brands, including the USA TODAY NETWORK, comprised of the national publication, USA TODAY, and local media organizations, including our network of local properties, in the United States, and Newsquest, a wholly-owned subsidiary operating in the United Kingdom, we provide essential journalism, local content, and digital experiences to audiences and businesses. We deliver high-quality, trusted content with a commitment to balanced, unbiased journalism, where and when consumers want to engage. Our digital marketing solutions brand, LocaliQ, supports small and medium-sized businesses with innovative digital marketing products and solutions.

Disclaimer – Forward-Looking Statements
Each of Taboola (the “Company”) and Gannett Co., Inc. (“Gannett”) may, in this communication, make certain statements that are not historical facts and relate to analysis or other information which are based on forecasts or future or results. Examples of such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding future prospects, product development and business strategies. Words such as “expect,” “estimate,” “project,” “budget,” “forecast,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “may,” “will,” “could,” “should,” “believes,” “predicts,” “potential,” “continue,” and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements but are not the exclusive means for identifying such statements. By their very nature, forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, and there are risks that the predictions, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will not be achieved. You should understand that a number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the plans, objectives, expectations, estimates and intentions expressed in such forward-looking statements, including the risks set forth in each of the Company’s and Gannett’s Annual Reports on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 under Part 1, Item 1A “Risk Factors” and subsequent filings made by each of them with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Each of the Company and Gannett cautions readers not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Neither the Company nor Gannett undertakes or accepts any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect any change in its expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based

Media Contacts
Taboola
dave.s@taboola.com

Gannett
Lark-Marie Anton
Chief Communications Officer
lark@gannett.com

FAQ

What is the significance of Taboola's expanded partnership with Gannett for TBLA investors?

The partnership gives Taboola access to display inventory across Gannett's extensive media network, potentially increasing ad revenue through the Realize platform's AI-powered targeting capabilities.

How does Taboola's Realize platform work with Gannett's properties?

Realize uses AI and first-party data from code-on-page integrations to optimize ad placement across Gannett's digital properties, including USA TODAY and 200+ local publications.

What new advertising capabilities does TBLA's Realize offer on Gannett properties?

Realize enables performance advertisers to access display inventory and expanded publisher network access, powered by AI optimization for better campaign performance.

When did Taboola's partnership with Gannett begin and what has changed?

The partnership began in 2013 with content recommendations, and now expands to include display advertising inventory access through the Realize platform.