Taboola extends content deal with Reach for 13th year

Taboola and Reach PLC announced yesterday a multi-year extension of their content recommendations partnership, marking the continuation of a relationship that began thirteen years ago. The announcement comes as digital publishers seek ways to enhance monetization and audience engagement amid changing market dynamics.

According to the announcement made on January 28, 2025, Reach PLC, which maintains its position as the largest commercial news publisher in the United Kingdom and Ireland, will continue implementing Taboola's suite of products across its portfolio of publications. The partnership encompasses notable titles including the Mirror, the Express, and OK! magazine, spanning markets across the UK, Ireland, and the United States.

The agreement introduces header bidding capabilities to Reach's technological stack, representing a significant technical enhancement to the existing partnership. Header bidding technology enables publishers to simultaneously offer their advertising inventory to multiple demand sources, potentially increasing revenue through enhanced competition among buyers.

Reach's digital footprint extends to approximately 69% of the UK's online population monthly, according to company statistics. The publisher's portfolio comprises more than 120 trusted brands, including national publications and regional news outlets such as MyLondon, BelfastLive, and the Manchester Evening News.

The technical implementation includes several key components from Taboola's product suite. The Taboola Feed provides readers with personalized multi-format content recommendations, while the Explore More feature focuses on increasing session depth for users arriving from social media platforms and applications. The partnership also maintains the implementation of exclusive in-article advertising units.

Piers North, Chief Revenue Officer for Reach, emphasized the significance of reader experience in the partnership: "Reader experience is important to us and so we will be working with Taboola to improve this across our platforms for all our audiences."

The scope of Taboola's operations provides context for this partnership's scale. The company serves nearly 600 million daily active users and maintains relationships with approximately 18,000 advertisers. Their e-commerce recommendations drive over 1 million monthly transactions, with major retailers including Walmart, Macy's, Skechers, and eBay among their customer base.

The technology underlying these recommendations relies on artificial intelligence to analyze user behavior and content patterns across digital properties, including websites, devices, and mobile applications. This AI-driven approach aims to optimize both monetization for publishers and engagement for users.

Taboola's broader partner network includes significant global media organizations. The company maintains long-term partnerships with digital properties such as Yahoo, CNBC, BBC, NBC News, Business Insider, The Independent, and El Mundo, indicating the scale of their content recommendation infrastructure.

The agreement represents a continuation of digital publishing's adaptation to changing consumption patterns. Publishers increasingly seek technology partnerships that can enhance user engagement while maintaining revenue streams, particularly as traditional advertising models evolve.

Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed in the announcement. Both companies will continue their collaboration across Reach's digital properties, with the header bidding implementation representing the primary technical enhancement to their existing relationship.

The timing of this renewal coincides with broader industry discussions about publisher monetization strategies and user engagement metrics. As digital publishers navigate various revenue optimization approaches, partnerships between content platforms and publishers remain crucial to the industry's economic model.