(FROM THE WALL STREET JOURNAL 5/20/15) 
   By Mike Shields 

Ad buyers say that the connected TV landscape, at least in its current state, can be a messy, disjointed place to run ad campaigns.

And once Verizon Communications Inc.'s $4.4 billion deal for AOL Inc. becomes official sometime later this year, that will likely still be true, agency and advertising technology executives say -- at least for the time being.

Among the rationales for the Verizon acquisition, according to AOL Chief Executive Tim Armstrong, is to exploit the anticipated growth of the connected TV business.

"This deal creates a very significant network for mobile and OTT," said Mr. Armstrong, referring to over-the-top television streaming. "We want to fuel the brand advertising space."

When it comes to OTT and advertising, that nascent sector could use some fueling. The sector represents a mishmash of outlets, from pay-TV providers to media companies to TV manufacturers to OTT device companies such as Roku-- all of which have some access to TV app ad inventory. "It's confusing and scattered," said Darcy Bowe, vice president of media direct, Starcom MediaVest. "There is no one place with scale."

Jayant Kadambi, chief executive at Web video-tech firm TuMe, echoed this sentiment. "OTT advertising is small for us, and we've been there the longest," he said.

At least initially, ad buyers and ad technology executives say they aren't quite sure just how the Verizon-AOL hookup creates much scale in the near term.

Some see potential in Verizon taking AOL's ad technology--particularly the Web video-centric platform Adap.tv--and extending it to Verizon's own connected TV apps, along with its FiOS pay-TV service, to help sell more targeted video ads. But as Ms. Bowe noted, Verizon FiOS isn't in several major markets and has fewer than six million subscribers.

This summer, Verizon plans to launch a video service aimed at cord-cutters that theoretically could use Adap's ad infrastructure. But Mr. Kadambi said ad technology built primarily for Web video may have to be adapted to work well with mobile or connected TV delivery systems.

"It's going to take time to get all that going," said Scott Ferber, chief executive at Videology, another player in the Web video ad tech world.

Still, if Verizon can take AOL's ad tech platform and establish it as a viable means for buying and selling more ad inventory from connected TV apps and even video on demand or linear TV, they could entice more TV and Web video partners to transact via AOL, said Mike Green, vice president at Brightcove, which specializes in managing Web video content.

"It could become a flagship to rope other people in," he said. "You could see Verizon and AOL saying, 'Hey, let us do this for you, Sony Crackle, and you, cable company.'"

That sort of frememy collaboration is unusual in the TV world. But it is rather common in digital media, where Google Inc. helps companies across the industry deliver and even sell ads while competing against them for ad budgets.

"Google has done such a great job creating a network effect with its platforms," said Bill Wise, chief executive at Mediaocean. "That's where I could see this going."

Right now, it's anybody's guess where the Verizon-AOL merger goes. And it isn't likely to be clear on day one.

Michael Bologna, president of Modi Media, a data-centric division of the media buying giant GroupM, sees potential in the Verizon-AOL combination in terms of better targeted TV advertising -- eventually.

"This could really further the journey towards data-driven television," he said. "These things just take so much time. This stuff is not easy."

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