Centro buys Real Cities from McClatchy

Cory Bergman August 14th, 2008

Local ad services company Centro has purchased Real Cities, McClatchy’s online ad network, for an undisclosed amount. “As for what Real Cities brings to the table, it has a network with 1,800 local affiliate sites and claims a combined 44 million monthly uniques on average,” writes David Kaplan on PaidContent. “For Centro, the purchase should help it strengthen its position as a go-between for media agencies and newspapers.” Release below…

PRESS RELEASE — CHICAGO – August 14, 2008 – Centro, which provides the leading local online media planning and buying software platform, announced today it has purchased Real Cities, one of largest and most respected online newspaper buying services, from The McClatchy Company. The transaction closed on August 12, 2008. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

With its purchase of Real Cities, Centro solidifies its position as the leader in local media, and with access to Real Cities’ clients, it gains broader distribution for its local media buying software platform among agencies.

“The acquisition of Real Cities should help more agencies buy local media. Centro’s media placement software and services have made it a lot easier,” said Peter Krasilovsky, Program Director of the Marketplaces program for The Kelsey Group, a research firm based in Princeton, NJ that focuses on local advertising. “We think Centro, as a company that sits impartially between the buy side and sell side, is well positioned to be a leading player in this space. At the same time, we think it can expand the local marketplace.”

Centro’s media planning and buying platform has enabled the company to scale its business across thousands of local publishers. Media planning and campaign operations activities that used to take days or weeks to complete now take just a few hours for one of Centro’s professionals. Agency versions of Centro’s technology are in early-adopter testing at multiple agencies.

“This transaction makes sense not only for McClatchy’s online newspapers, but for all Real Cities customers,” said Christian A. Hendricks, McClatchy’s vice president for Interactive Media. “Any newspaper web site, advertiser or advertising agency doing business with Centro has no doubt been impressed by Centro’s quality service and one-order-one-bill efficiency. Couple these two strengths with the promise of Centro’s new ad placement technology and you see why we’re pleased with our decision.”

“We’ve partnered so much with Real Cities and McClatchy over the years and have such a tremendous amount of respect for the leadership team that it’s a great pleasure to bring our companies together,” said Shawn Riegsecker, Centro Chairman and CEO. “We look forward to a seamless integration and serving Real Cities’ clients with the most successful media campaigns at the local level. McClatchy and Centro will continue to work together to help grow the local digital sector for many years to come.”