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Expanded programmatic capabilities at Sky Media 'will democratise live sport'

Sky Media is providing access to its streamed linear and VOD advertising inventory through a private marketplace (PMP) for the first time, as part of an expanded collaboration with The Trade Desk. The PMP access includes biddable (real-time auctioned) content, covering entertainment and, more dramatically, live sport. The programmatic biddable live sport platform, including football, […]

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Expanded programmatic capabilities at Sky Media 'will democratise live sport'

Sky Media is providing access to its streamed linear and VOD advertising inventory through a private marketplace (PMP) for the first time, as part of an expanded collaboration with The Trade Desk.

The PMP access includes biddable (real-time auctioned) content, covering entertainment and, more dramatically, live sport.

The programmatic biddable live sport platform, including football, spans streamed Sky Sports and the TNT Sports app (also represented by Sky Media). That gives advertisers extensive reach into UK sports fans. This innovation is expected to attract new-to-sport advertisers, which will see cost barriers reduced thanks to data-driven geo-targeting.

For example, a premium brand that previously believed televised sport was too expensive can target passionate football fans who follow a city club by taking a local geographic segment of the streaming audience.

The automated real-time bidding for VOD and streamed linear covers TV screens, mobile and tablets. As well as TNT Sports, other apps available via the PMP include Sky Go, Now and Discovery+. Pluto TV will be added this year.

The Trade Desk partnership

Sky Media and The Trade Desk first partnered in 2021. Sky Media ramped up its programmatic efforts last year, having established the scale of incremental demand and revenue available programmatically.

Initially, the focus was on programmatic guaranteed (PG), which is exclusive with The Trade Desk. As part of the expanded partnership, advertisers will now be able to reach millions of Sky Q boxes with this PG offer later this year, opening up more viewers to programmatic VOD.

The PMP and biddable inventory option was announced in November 2024 and receives its formal launch this week. It includes frequency-capping capabilities to help advertisers maximise reach and ensure consumers are not over-exposed to any campaign.

Elements of Sky Media’s recently launched Sports Marketplace will be available via the PMP soon. This is the online destination for buying premium sports content across Sky Sports and TNT Sports. Buyers will be offered multi-event packages that include live football, tennis, golf, rugby and other sport.

Kicking off a simpler way to buy live sport — and win a £15k campaign

Biddable was a logical next step

Dan Cohen, director of transformation and strategic programmes at Sky Media, said the sales house is demand-agnostic and happy to work with direct buys or programmatic. “In programmatic, we want to tap into different demand forms,” he told The Media Leader.

“Programmatic guaranteed is very similar to a direct buy, so that was a natural place to start, building confidence that the demand was there, and it was incremental demand. We know there is an appetite for biddable, so that was a logical next step.”

This is the first time live sport has been available to buy at Sky Media via a private marketplace and Sven Hagemeier, general manager, inventory development EMEA, at The Trade Desk, considered it a landmark moment.

“This kind of sports inventory represents the most premium environment you can find on the internet. Combined with the value of the audience, these are the highest-value placements you can buy in media.”

Drawing upon work The Trade Desk has performed with other media owners in programmatic and especially live sport, he observed that, as soon as advertisers benefit from more signals and better data-driven decisioning capabilities, they are willing to pay more for inventory.

Programmatic streaming, with targeting, opens sport to new buyers, according to Hagemeier: “There are brands who could not run campaigns in national linear sport but can buy this. They can run in certain geographies or certain games and limit the amount of money they need to spend.

“Programmatic democratises access to live sport.”

Cohen hailed the value of sport as a way to engage audiences: “In this radically fragmented world, there are so few opportunities for brands to connect with attentive, emotionally engaged viewers who are watching at the same time.”

He pointed out that, while major drama and other entertainment shows can deliver the audiences, people are usually watching on demand so rarely witness the same experience at the same moment. Sport provides the shared emotion.

“All this amazing sport gives emotional connection and that is a real opportunity for brands. We want to open that opportunity to as many buyers as possible, whether with programmatic guaranteed or private marketplace,” said Cohen.

He agreed that the expanded programmatic capabilities at Sky Media will democratise live sport, including football, for advertisers. He noted: “The key is to give advertisers a chance to appear in premium content where they would not otherwise have a presence.”

Geo-targeting helps lower barriers

Turning to geo-targeting and the way it can make live sports affordable (by limiting the audience size for an advertiser), Cohen pointed to the many heavily supported clubs outside the Premier League whose following is not only fiercely loyal but possibly more local than at the Premier League giants.

“Brands can now get themselves in front of that audience on a localised basis,” he said.

Sky Media wants to make live streaming sports advertising as flexible as possible. One programmatic roadmap ambition is to let buyers pick out individual games outside larger buys.

Hagemeier highlighted a key benefit for media owners once you offer programmatic live sport, including with real-time bidding: “Sometimes you cannot fully predict the size of an audience for live events. Something can happen that makes a game more exciting and increases viewing. With programmatic, you can sell that additional reach.”

In the biddable private marketplace environment Sky is making available, brands and all their copy are pre-approved. Inventory is sold to the highest bidder.

Cohen continued: “Our work with PMP enables us to tap into that demand pool that is interested in biddable rather than guaranteed pricing, while maintaining the quality parameters around brands who can appear. PMP gives that perfect balance when enabling biddable.”

This programmatic evolution fits into one of the big missions for the TV industry in 2025: make it easier for advertisers to buy premium, brand-safe content. This is also a key motive behind Sky Media’s Sports Marketplace.

Cohen concluded with the hope that programmatic and biddable convince brands that have avoided sport — or TV — to look again.

“There is a perception that television is expensive, requiring experts, including an agency,” he observed. “For live sports in particular, the perception is that it is really expensive, but the reality is different. Streamed sport is affordable and within the grasp of the vast majority of brands.”

The Trade Desk is the first DSP with access to Sky Sports and long-form VOD through the new PMP.

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DePaul University Blue Demons – Official Athletics Website

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – DePaul track and field makes the trip down I-57 for its final regular-season meet on Friday, May 2, competing in the third annual Gary Wieneke Memorial at the University of Illinois. Originally scheduled as a two-day meet, all events have been moved to Friday due to forecasted inclement weather.   Click here […]

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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – DePaul track and field makes the trip down I-57 for its final regular-season meet on Friday, May 2, competing in the third annual Gary Wieneke Memorial at the University of Illinois. Originally scheduled as a two-day meet, all events have been moved to Friday due to forecasted inclement weather.
 
Click here to follow live results and streaming.
 
For the Blue Demons, action begins at 1:30 p.m. with an early slate of field events and hurdles, followed by sprint races, distance events, and relays throughout the afternoon. Both the men’s and women’s 4×100 and 4×400 relays are scheduled to close out the day.
 
The Blue Demons enter the weekend following a high-powered showing at the Drake Relays, highlighted by a pair of event titles and multiple top-three finishes. Darius Brown secured the men’s 110m hurdles championship with a time of 13.58—good for first in the BIG EAST and tied for 23rd nationally in NCAA Division I. The men’s 4x100m squad also took first place, clocking a season-best 40.09 behind the efforts of Dominic Cole, Charles Lewis, Amaru Mazibuko, and Demetrius Rolle.
 
On the women’s side, Kash Allen delivered a record-setting performance in the shot put, claiming the title with a mark of 15.98m to lead the BIG EAST and crack the NCAA top 50. Sade Miller advanced to the 100m final and ran 11.54 in prelims, a time that ranks first in the conference. Rolle also posted a conference-leading mark of 10.29 in the men’s 100m prelims, breaking the school record and placing third in the final.
 
Additional BIG EAST leaders include Jaiah Hopf in the triple jump (12.72m), Jaiden Gary in the men’s shot put (17.18m), and Alex Bernstein in the hammer throw (66.47m)—a distance that currently ranks 29th nationally. Both 4x100m relays also top the BIG EAST performance list, with the women’s group of Nevaeh Lowe, Maia Mays, Jetta Mays, and Miller placing third at Drake with a 45.96 finish.
 
UP NEXT
DePaul readies for the BIG EAST Outdoor Championships, May 15-17, hosted by UConn.
 
FOLLOW THE BLUE DEMONS

For all of the latest on DePaul Cross Country, Track & Field, stay tuned to DePaulBlueDemons.com and follow the team on Facebook, Instagram, and X.





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Track and Field Travels North for Gary Wieneke Memorial

Story Links Gary Wieneke Memorial Demirjian Park | Champaign, Ill. May 2-3 | 11:30am (Fri) 10am (Sat) Schedule (TBA) | Live Stats ON-TAP: The Eastern Illinois Indoor Track and Field team is heading north up I-57 to participate in the University of Illinois Gary Wieneke Memorial at Demirjian Park in Champaign, Ill., […]

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Gary Wieneke Memorial

Demirjian Park | Champaign, Ill.

May 2-3 | 11:30am (Fri) 10am (Sat)

Schedule (TBA) |
Live Stats

ON-TAP: The Eastern Illinois Indoor Track and Field team is heading north up I-57 to participate in the University of Illinois Gary Wieneke Memorial at Demirjian Park in Champaign, Ill., on Friday, May 2 and Saturday, May 3. This marks the second time this calendar year that Eastern Illinois has traveled to the University of Illinois for a Track and Field events as they competed in the Fighting Illini Challenge and Combined Events on Friday, Jan. 24.

Due to potential weather conditions, this weekend’s meet schedule is subject to change; however, a tentative schedule is currently in place.

Day one action will showcase only a few events from each the sprinters, jumpers, distance, and field athletes. Friday will kick off with only four events on the oval –100m hurdles, 400m hurdles, 200m dash, and 5000m run. Meanwhile, field events and jumps will get started with hammer throw, javelin, and the triple jump.

Saturday’s will feature the remainder of the events throughout the day, ending with the men’s and women’s 4x400m relay in the evening. 

EIU EARLY BIRD RECAP: The Eastern Illinois track and field team wrapped up a successful weekend at the Jim Freeman/Clark Wood Invitational at Owsley B. Frazier Cardinal Park, highlighted by multiple top finishes and personal or season bests.

Graduate distance runner Mackenzie Aldridge also competed Thursday at the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa, placing 18th in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 17:37.85.

Isabella Fabrizio opened the meet strong for the Panthers, finishing seventh in the shot put with a mark of 13.03 meters and 10th in the hammer throw with a personal-best 50.83 meters. Sam Bradbury followed with a 15.29-meter toss in the men’s shot put, also placing seventh.

Distance runners Kylie Haacke, Rylea Borgic and Cale Smith continued their strong seasons. Haacke ran a personal-best 17:44.89 to finish sixth in the 5,000. Borgic earned a personal best and placed fourth in the 3,000 steeplechase with a time of 11:03.22. Smith won the men’s 3,000 steeplechase in 9:18.16.

In the high jump, Kenyetietta Quinn won the “C” flight with a personal-best jump of 1.65 meters, while Porter Conroy placed fifth in the “B” flight at 1.85 meters. Abby Venhaus took third in the long jump with a season-best 5.71 meters as Abraham Johnson finished second in the triple jump with a mark of 15.26 meters.

Sprinter Daniel Lacy headlined the Panthers on the track, winning the 400-meter dash with a personal-best time of 46.39 seconds.

OVC TOP THREE: Ten Panther athletes, along with the men’s 4x100m Relay teams, currently sit in one of the top three spots in the OVC for their respective events.

Kylie Haacke’s performance in the 10,000m run at the WashU Distance Carnival has earned her the third spot on the podium in the OVC, as Rylea Borgic’s time of 11:03.22 in the 3000m Steeplechase at the Louisville has also earned her the second place spot in the conference. Cale Smith also recorded a strong 3000m Steeplechase finish at the Jim Freeman/Clark Wood Open, crossing the finish line in 9:18.16 to sit second in the OVC.

The Panther men’s 4x100m relay team, consisting of Jahleel Perrin, Daniel Lacy, Shawn Lacy, and Isreal Jackson posted a season best time last weekend, crossing the finish line in 40.93 to slide into the second place spot in the conference.

Daniel Lacy currently holds the second-place spot the 200m dash and the 4th place spot in the 100m dash. Lacy posted a time of 21.22 in the 200m at the Pacesetter Invitational and followed up with a time of 10.63 at the Normal Invite. His 400m time of 46.93 also puts him at the top of the 400m dash list in the OVC.

Abraham Johnson continues to build his freshman resume, as he currently holds the first-place spot in the triple jump after his performance at the Normal Invite on April, 11th. Taryn Tarquin also manufactured success in the sand pit, sliding into the third place spot in the OVC in the triple jump after posting a mark of 12.13m at the Gibson Invitational. In addition, Elijah Skutt moves his way onto the high jump leaderboards, posting a height of 2.01m at the Normal Invite to slide into the third place spot.

Hallee Thomas also had a successful home meet, securing the third-place spot in the conference in the 400m hurdles after posting a time of 1:02.79.

Sam Bradbury and Alex Stout fill out the leaderboard for the Panthers in the field events, as Bradbury holds third for the discus Stout sits in third for shot put.

NEXT UP: The Panthers are back in action next weekend for their final regular season meet of the 2025. EIU is slotted to head east to Terre Haute, Ind. for the third time this outdoor season to compete in the Sycamore Open at Gibson Track & Field Complex on Friday, May 9th.

Eastern Illinois will then prepare for the OVC Outdoor Championships the following weekend, hosted on May 15-17 at Abe Stuber Track Complex on the campus of Southeast Missouri State in Cape Girardeau, Mo.



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Seattle Mariners Prospect Tyler Locklear Named Minor League Co

One of the hottest hitters in the Seattle Mariners minor league system has been recognized for his torrid first month of the season in the organization’s first set of monthly minor league awards. First baseman Tyler Locklear (Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers) was named the Mariners minor league co-hitter of the month on Thursday. Top 100 prospect […]

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Seattle Mariners Prospect Tyler Locklear Named Minor League Co

One of the hottest hitters in the Seattle Mariners minor league system has been recognized for his torrid first month of the season in the organization’s first set of monthly minor league awards.

First baseman Tyler Locklear (Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers) was named the Mariners minor league co-hitter of the month on Thursday. Top 100 prospect Lazaro Montes (High-A Everett AquaSox) was the other batter to earn the honor.

Locklear has scored 12 runs this season and has hit 12 doubles, two home runs and 17 RBIs in 26 games entering Thursday. He’s slashed .317/.400/.485 with an OPS of .885 in that stretch. He’s had a base hit in 17-of-26 games, has 10 multi-hit games and two four-hit games.

The 24-year-old Locklear was picked in the second round of the 2022 MLB Draft out of Virginia Commonwealth. He was promoted to Triple-A for the first time and made his major league debut last season. He had a double, two homers and three RBIs in 16 games for Seattle last season. He had a slash line of .156/,224/.311 with a .535 OPS in his first taste of the big leagues.

Locklear (No. 11 Mariners prospect according to MLB Pipeline) was thought to the organization’s long-term answer at first base as recent as a season ago. His struggles nixed the possibility of a longer stay in the majors last season.

Locklear hasn’t had a batting average lower than .263 this year with the Rainiers. And his solid year might lead to him returning to the big leagues soon.

MARINERS SELECT OUTFIELDER RHYLAN THOMAS FROM TRIPLE-A TACOMA RAINIERS: The Mariners brought up the former USC product after an injury to outfielder Luke Raley. CLICK HERE

TOP 100 MARINERS PROSPECT JONNY FARMELO HITS HOME RUN IN 2025 DEBUT: The Mariners outfielder hit a homer in his first game of the season, as he comes back from a torn ACL. CLICK HERE

SEATTLE MARINERS SELECT SAMAD TAYLOR FROM TRIPLE-A TACOMA: Taylor will get his first look in the majors this season after the Mariners placed Gold Glove winner Dylan Moore on the 10-day injured list. CLICK HERE

You can also follow Teren Kowatsch on social media on Twitter @Teren_Kowatsch.

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Trump Slams Trans Athletes In Women's Sports In AL Speech Despite Melania Not Liking …

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Trump Slams Trans Athletes In Women's Sports In AL Speech Despite Melania Not Liking ...


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2025 USA Water Polo Division III Women’s Collegiate Water Polo National Championship Bracket Announced

Story Links Rock Island, IL – May 1 – The USA Water Polo Division III Women’s Collegiate Water Polo National Championship returns this season with competition headed to Rock Island, IL from May 3-4. Augustana College earned hosting honors after claiming the 2025 Collegiate Water Polo Association Conference Championship. They will be joined in […]

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USA Water Polo Division III National Championship

Rock Island, IL – May 1 – The USA Water Polo Division III Women’s Collegiate Water Polo National Championship returns this season with competition headed to Rock Island, IL from May 3-4. Augustana College earned hosting honors after claiming the 2025 Collegiate Water Polo Association Conference Championship. They will be joined in the competition by CWPA runner-up Washington & Jefferson, Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champions Pomona-Pitzer, and SCIAC runner-up Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.

Admission for the tournament is $12 for the day or $20 for the weekend. To purchase tickets, click here. All games will stream live on Overnght with live stats available courtesy of The FOSH. Team rosters can be accessed here.

Pool Location:

Lindberg Center

Anne Greve Lund Natatorium

Rock Island, IL 61201

Game Schedule (all times Central):

Saturday May 3rd:

2:00 PM: Pomona-Pitzer vs. Washington & Jefferson (Live Stats)

4:00 PM: Claremont-Mudd-Scripps vs. Augustana (Live Stats)

 

Sunday May 4th:

10:30 AM: 3rd Place Game

12:30 PM: 1st Place Game

 



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Breakthrough Year For Girls Beach Volleyball Team From WHS

WHS Beach Volleyball Team — (Front row) Carley Treanor, Grace Kouf, Brielle Dorish and Maddie Lee; and (back row) Faith DiMaria, Fabiana Rumbos, Olivia Roque, Isabela Duque, Gabriella Marotta, Jill St. Leger, Erica Bojanowski, Juliana Nunes, Nicole Koch, Madeline Martinez, Kristin Haggerty and Audrey Keefe. It has been a memorable and historic season for the […]

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WHS Beach Volleyball Team — (Front row) Carley Treanor, Grace Kouf, Brielle Dorish and Maddie Lee; and (back row) Faith DiMaria, Fabiana Rumbos, Olivia Roque, Isabela Duque, Gabriella Marotta, Jill St. Leger, Erica Bojanowski, Juliana Nunes, Nicole Koch, Madeline Martinez, Kristin Haggerty and Audrey Keefe.

It has been a memorable and historic season for the girls beach volleyball team from Wellington High School.

On Thursday, April 24, Wellington’s 17-member squad won its first-ever Florida High School Athletic Association district tournament title when the Wolverines defeated the Cobras from Park Vista High School, 4-1.

That victory earned Wellington an automatic berth in the FHSAA’s Class 3A state tournament. That District 14 title victory against Park Vista earned Wellington the No. 3 seed in Region 4. As luck would have it, Park Vista earned an at-large bid, based on its strong ranking, and was awarded the sixth seed, which pitted Wellington against Park Vista for the third time this season in a regional quarterfinal clash on Tuesday, April 29. Both prior matches against Park Vista were won by Wellington.

In the regional quarterfinal match, Wellington defeated Park Vista for the third time this season, 4-1. That win propelled Wellington (13-3) to a Class 3A, Region 4 semifinal encounter against second-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas from Fort Lauderdale. That match was played on Wednesday, April 30 in Pompano Beach. The result was unavailable at press time.

For this year’s squad from WHS, led by head coach Sergio Rios, the ultimate goal is to reach the FHSAA’s Class 3A state finals for beach volleyball, which will be held in Tallahassee on Florida State University’s beach volleyball courts on May 9-10.



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