Today, Ozone, the leading digital advertising business, has announced the addition of CNN’s highly valuable, incredibly influential audience to its Audience Connection Platform.
As a globally renowned news organisation for more than four decades, CNN creates deep connections between its audiences and brands, ensuring a premium space for advertisers and a commitment to quality journalism. From breaking news, politics, and business to travel, sport and entertainment, CNN informs, inspires and provokes a deeper understanding of the world we all live in.
Digital data firm Comscore notes that CNN is visited by an average of 126 million unique users each month around the world.* According to UKOM-endorsed Ipsos iris digital audience data, of the audience in the UK, almost two-thirds are affluent ABC1 readers and 64% are chief income earners. Travel, culture and technology are key lifestyle interests among the majority of their audience.
In addition to joining Ozone’s advertising platform, CNN will also leverage Ozone’s unique suite of publisher tools, giving the publisher’s commercial operations team greater control over high-value programmatic ad revenue. Among the proprietary Ozone technologies available to its publisher partners is the award-winning Smart Bidstream, which will help maximise the value of its digital assets, enhance audience addressability and reduce data leakage.
An alternative to the major tech, social and walled garden platforms, Ozone offers a transparent and efficient solution, connecting brands with scaled, engaged audiences by way of its consolidated, audience-first media business, inventory and data. Ozone’s scaled, human connections, brilliant creative and deep audience capabilities deliver measurable business impact. As with all partnerships like this, Ozone will be a complementary partner to CNN’s exemplary direct commercial efforts.
Like Ozone, CNN is a global partner in Stagwell’s Future of News initiative, which has found news content to be inherently brand-safe. The research shows ads appearing beside any type of news doesn’t harm brand perception or intent, though many executives believe brand safety concerns have gone too far.
Commenting on the CNN partnership, Damon Reeve, CEO of Ozone, said: “Our shared values, focus on putting audiences first and commitment to transparency, data compliance, consumer consent and championing societal good are key components of this new partnership. CNN is a journalistic powerhouse and global truth-seeking force and we’re absolutely delighted to be partnering with them. The globally recognised CNN brand, its smart, worldly audience and highly valued digital assets will bolster Ozone’s platform credentials.”
Rob Bradley, SVP Digital Revenue, Strategy & Operations, CNN International Commercial, said: “Our mission, to inform, engage and empower the world, closely aligns with Ozone’s own high standards to partner with audience-first media businesses who inspire, inform and entertain online users around the world. We’ve admired what Ozone’s built over the past few years, they are authentic in their mission to help fund and support the world’s best journalism through its strategic positioning, cutting-edge ad tech that meet and exceeds advertiser’s needs. This partnership further strengthens Ozone’s position in market and enables brands to now access CNN’s highly engaged and powerful audience via a new route. We’re excited about the potential this new partnership offers, that perfectly complements our unrivalled branded and sponsored content led direct business”.
* Digital Sources: Comscore Media Metrix ® Multi-Platform, Desktop and Mobile, January to April 2025, Worldwide Rollup, CNN.COM; Ipsos iris, July 2025
