TV giants back new open identity solution for cross-platform advertising

By Mofeoluwa Awe

In a bold move to streamline audience targeting across fragmented media platforms, OpenAP, the ad tech firm co-owned by Fox, NBCUniversal, Paramount, and Warner Bros. Discovery, is set to launch its new Open Identity solution this May.

The initiative aims to solve one of the most pressing challenges in the digital ad world, enabling advertisers to identify and reach a single audience across multiple publishers, streamers, and data providers while maintaining strong data privacy standards.

With support from major data players including Acxiom, DeepSync, Experian, LiveRamp, and TransUnion, Open Identity represents a significant step forward in building a unified, interoperable identity framework for premium video advertising.

Described as an evolution of OpenAP’s previous OpenID system, the new offering allows direct identity matching through OpenAP’s secure data clean room. This setup enables advertisers to build audiences from connected datasets without the need for complex crosswalks or workaround technologies.

“The workflow of the future for streaming video must be interoperable and data must connect seamlessly across all data providers, publishers, platforms, and currencies,” said David Levy, CEO of OpenAP.

This launch comes amid growing competition in the identity space, with ad holding giants like WPP and Publicis Groupe also making aggressive plays. WPP recently acquired InfoSum, while Publicis snapped up Lotame, both moves aimed at enhancing data collaboration and identity-driven targeting in the age of AI-powered marketing.

As advertisers continue to seek greater precision and efficiency in a fractured digital landscape, Open Identity positions TV networks as serious contenders in the battle for cross-platform ad dominance.