TEGNA Extends Multi-Faceted Partnership with FreeWheel

Today, TEGNA, Inc. (NYSE: TGNA) and FreeWheel, a Comcast Company (Nasdaq: CMCSA), announced a new multi-year deal to further transform and automate the way TEGNA's buyers and sellers transact, including through CTV/OTT advertising platform Premion.

Under the terms of the deal, TEGNA will continue working with FreeWheel to help enhance business operations in several different ways, including using FreeWheel's Strata platform to process electronic orders through ePort, an automated platform that enables purchasing ads from local television stations. TEGNA currently connects with agencies through FreeWheel's ePort platform, enabling its sellers to receive electronic orders from buyers, send makegoods back to the buying platform, and receive revisions electronically.

Premion, an industry-leading CTV/OTT advertising platform for regional and local advertisers, will continue to use FreeWheel's Strata ad management platform to enable more than 1100 agencies access to Premion's video inventory from 125+ premium publishers. FreeWheel's marketplace-based technology enables Premion to further enhance its advertising operations, facilitate automation, and increase agency access to its OTT inventory.

The companies have also committed to continuing their joint innovation initiatives, with a specific focus on working on new marketplace-based technology to enhance programmatic transactions and inventory acquisition.

"The media industry has transformed over the past decade, and through our partnership with FreeWheel, we continue to show our customers that we are an industry leader," said Kurt Rao, chief technology officer, TEGNA. "Agencies are relying on automation more than ever. With FreeWheel, we are able to process orders more quickly and more efficiently for our agency partners across our marketing and advertising solutions, including Premion."

"Advertisers are seeking efficiencies and simplicity in the planning and buying of CTV/OTT campaigns and our FreeWheel partnership facilitates the automation of buyer workflows," said Tom Cox, president of Premion. "We look forward to strengthening this relationship to provide brands and marketers with more convenience, control, and broader access to Premion's premium OTT inventory via the FreeWheel Agency platform."

"At FreeWheel, we pride ourselves on our ability to build more efficient and streamlined connections between buyers and sellers," said Ian Banks, business development manager, FreeWheel. "Through our partnership, TEGNA and Premion are able to offer clients a completely automated and efficient experience from start to finish ? including advanced capabilities like data-focused solutions. This is the future of our industry."

About TEGNA

TEGNA Inc. (NYSE: TGNA) is an innovative media company that serves the greater good of our communities. Across platforms, TEGNA tells empowering stories, conducts impactful investigations and delivers innovative marketing solutions. With 64 television stations in 51 U.S. markets, TEGNA is the largest owner of top 4 network affiliates in the top 25 markets among independent station groups, reaching approximately 39 percent of all television households nationwide. TEGNA also owns leading multicast networks True Crime Network and Quest. TEGNA Marketing Solutions (TMS) offers innovative solutions to help businesses reach consumers across television, digital and over-the-top (OTT) platforms, including Premion, TEGNA's OTT advertising service. For more information, visit www.TEGNA.com.

About FreeWheel

FreeWheel, A Comcast Company, empowers all segments of The New TV Ecosystem. We are structured to provide the full breadth of solutions the advertising industry needs to achieve their goals. We provide the technology, data enablement, and convergent marketplaces required to ensure buyers and sellers can transact across all screens, across all data types, and all sales channels, in order to ensure the ultimate goal ? results for marketers.

With offices in New York, San Francisco, Chicago, London, Paris, Beijing, and across the globe, FreeWheel, A Comcast Company, stands to advocate for the entire industry through the FreeWheel Council for Premium Video. For more information, please visit freewheel.com, and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

About Premion

Launched in 2016 by TEGNA Inc., Premion is an industry-leading premium CTV/OTT advertising platform for regional and local advertisers. Gray Television Inc. (NYSE: GTN) acquired a minority stake in Premion in 2020. With directly-sources inventory from 125+ premium publishers, Premion delivers transparency and brand safety, making it easy for advertisers to target and reach engaged audiences at scale. For more information, visit: www.premion.com.