Taboola to Drive Traffic on Media General Sites

Taboola, whose software recommends content to web surfers, announced a three-year deal to work with Media General’s station websites.

Media General operates more than 70 stations with digital content running on desktops and mobile devices.

Taboola’s predictive engine presents Media General’s audiences with promoted stories from around the web, generating a significant new revenue stream, the company said. The suggested links are usually seen at the bottom of a web page a user has clicked on or searched for.

Media General’s broadcast and digital properties reach 23% of U.S. households. Taboola reaches 1 billion users a month, according to comScore and every American internet users sees Taboola at least 70 times per month.

“In today’s often-turbulent media ecosystem, scale matters more than ever, and we’re honored to partner with such a forward-thinking company like Media General that has made growth a priority by continuing to transform its business in interesting ways,” said Adam Singolda, founder and CEO of Taboola. “As the team at Media General focuses on developing its digital business, we will continue to work together on unlocking new ways to monetize and engage their large and varied audience base, matching people with content they may like but never knew existed.”

Taboola’s algorithm analyzes hundreds of real-time signals—such as geography, device type, referral source, collaborative filtering, and social media trends—to predict the top handful of items a user may want to consume next.

Other media companies working with Taboola include NBCUniversal, the NY Daily News, AOL and MSN.

Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.