Four of the biggest US news organisations, including the New York Times Company and Tribune Co, have teamed up to forge a new online advertising venture, the groups announced Friday.
The new venture called quadrantONE is backed by the Times; Tribune Co, which publishes the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune; USA Today publisher Gannett and the Hearst Corporation, which owns the San Francisco Chronicle.
"By aggregating the online audiences of quadrantONE's participating media companies, large national advertisers can immediately access tens of millions of unique visitors in the country's top markets," quadrantONE's interim chief executive Dana Hayes said in a statement.
The venture hopes to entice "premium advertisers" seeking to reach a broad national audience of potential customers. QuadrantONE's backers claim the new online network will have a reach of 50 million monthly unique visitors and that it will cover 27 out of 30 of the top markets including major cities and population areas.
Each participating media firm has agreed to dedicate advertising space to quadrantONE, so the forum can "offer customised online campaigns on a highly competitive basis."