T-Mobile US has agreed to acquire Vistar Media, a leader in out-of-home (OOH) advertising technology, for $600 million, marking its attempt to explore non-telecom revenue streams. This move is part of the company’s strategy to tap into the growing digital-out-of-home (DOOH) advertising sector, a market that has shown potential but has proven challenging for telecom companies in the past.
Vistar Media, which operates a technology platform for managing digital advertising campaigns across 1.1 million screens, will become part of T-Mobile’s Advertising Solutions division. The acquisition allows T-Mobile to leverage its vast customer data and combine it with Vistar’s advanced advertising technology, potentially enhancing targeted ad offerings. Vistar currently works with over 3,000 brand advertisers across various digital platforms, which will strengthen T-Mobile’s advertising reach.
T-Mobile is optimistic about the future of DOOH, with the company citing a report from eMarketer that predicts US DOOH spending will make up over a third of the total $10 billion spent on OOH advertising this year. The company believes that digital screens are still underutilized and represent a major growth opportunity as they become more widely accessible.
However, T-Mobile’s venture into advertising comes with risks, as telecom companies have struggled in the past to successfully monetize their customer data in the advertising space. Previous efforts by companies like AT&T and O2 to create profitable advertising businesses through customer data have not been as successful. Despite this, T-Mobile is confident that its scale, combined with Vistar’s technology, will allow for more relevant and personalized ad experiences.
