SeeSaw appoints new ad sales partner

SeeSaw, the video on-demand website owned by transmission firm Arqiva, has announced the appointment of digital media sales house Smartclip as its new ad sales partner.

The partnership, effective immediately, sees Smartclip take over all video advertising and sponsorship activity on the SeeSaw platform, which launched in February last year.

The deal covers a range of UK and international content from providers such as Shed and TalkBack Thames, but does not include programming from Channel 4 and Channel 5.

Across Europe, Smartclip has developed a reputation as a leading specialist in video advertising sales, helping to drive more TV budgets into online opportunities.

As video on-demand revenues are expected to exceed £100m throughout 2011, SeeSaw hopes that Smartclip will help it leverage more opportunities with UK media agencies.

"We have successfully launched a pioneering platform for both advertisers and consumers and Smartclip, who operate at the cutting edge of the digital video world, are ideally placed to help us monetise this opportunity," said Matt Rennie, SeeSaw's commercial director.

"As we move into our second year of operation, we have recently seen a considerable increase in site visits and video streams and we want to capitalise on this success. We look forward to working closely with Smartclip to continue our efforts in developing pioneering new ad formats and other exciting initiatives for the advertising community."

Jean-Paul Wevers, publishing director at Smartclip, added: "Our partnership with SeeSaw marks a significant milestone for Smartclip. SeeSaw adds new, rich, broadcast quality, long-form content and is testament to the credibility and organic growth of our own premium network.

"Smartclip makes it as easy as possible for publishers to sell, run and measure interactive video formats and we are delighted to be delivering these benefits to SeeSaw and their clients."

SeeSaw offers both catchup and on-demand programming from UK and US content providers, supported by advertising and subscription services.

The site was created after Arqiva paid £8 million to acquire the technology developed for Project Kangaroo, the BBC Worldwide, ITV and Channel 4 joint venture blocked by the Competition Commission.

According to SeeSaw, traffic to its online TV site increased 35% month-on-month in January, delivering more than 1m programme streams.

Earlier in the month, it emerged that SeeSaw chief executive Pierre-Jean Sebert had left the video on-demand website following a restructure at parent company Arqiva.