The Canadian Premium Audience Exchange, a real-time advertising exchange founded by a coalition of Canadian publishers, is relaunching this week on a new platform, with a new mandate and a few new members.
Joining the ranks will be Quebecor Media, Channel Zero and Reader’s Digest. The three companies will add their media properties’ ad inventory to the exchange, where buyers will be able to purchase impressions via programmatic real-time bidding. The newcomers join CBC/SRC, Rogers Media, Shaw Communications, Corus Entertainment, Cineplex, V and Tele-Quebec.
Notably absent is Bell Media, which has so far abstained from selling its ad inventory programmatically. Other major Canadian web publishers, like Torstar, TC Media and The Globe and Mail, have chosen to go it alone, and developed their own private exchanges.
However, CPAX’s founding member organizations have hinted that other new membership announcements may be on the way.
CPAX, launched in 2012, voluntarily went dark this month to make the switch to Casale’s Index Exchange platform. Initially an open exchange where anyone could buy inventory, the new CPAX 2.0 will be an exclusive exchange, where buyers must be certified to have access. CPAX has also said it will make a stronger push to promote its premium English and French inventory to Canadian advertisers.
