At a Glance

  • Roundel, Target's retail media division, is further expanding into video advertising through a new partnership with DirecTV Advertising, according to a press release shared with Marketing Dive.
  • The two are piloting a solution that uses Target's first-party shopper data to help brands reach consumers in premium ad placements across DirecTV's platforms. Ads will appear on TV home screens, during live sports events, and on screens in airplanes, hotels, and other travel settings.
  • Reporting tools connect DirecTV's audience signals with Target's data to track whether viewers of ads ultimately make purchases at Target. Consumer goods company Danone plans to test the capability in the coming months, and Roundel is actively recruiting other clients.

Deep Dive

Roundel's partnership with DirecTV consolidates travel, sports, and streaming ad buys into a unified offering with a unified measurement framework, while enhancing targeting with Target's first-party shopper data. This week, Roundel is pitching the new off-site pilot at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, an annual gathering of global advertisers that typically involves significant deal-making.

"By connecting Target's guest insights with premium video environments, we help brands reach guests at key discovery and inspiration moments while continuing to evolve how advertising supports the shopping journey," Matt Drzewicki, senior vice president at Roundel, said in a statement.

Retail media networks overall are aggressively expanding into upper-funnel channels, including premium video, to diversify revenue streams and prove their data capabilities extend beyond performance marketing. Walmart Connect, Walmart's U.S. advertising business, recently partnered with Google to allow advertisers to use its retail media data to optimize YouTube campaigns and track those campaigns back to Walmart sales.

Danone, which owns yogurt brands like Dannon and Oikos, is an early tester of the Roundel-DirecTV solution. The partnership covers more than 150 live DirecTV channels, with ad formats including home screen ad units, video interstitials, pause ads, and curated streaming content. The sports component allows brands to reach fans during live games from leagues such as MLB, WNBA, and PGA, including through pause ads that appear when viewers pause. According to the announcement, pause ads typically generate higher recall rates.

The Roundel partnership also makes it the first retail media network to advertise in DirecTV Remote, the out-of-home advertising unit focused on screens in travel environments like airplanes, hotels, and bars. Privately held DirecTV is one of many cable companies that have faced pressure from the rise of streaming services and cord-cutting. According to MoffettNathanson estimates, DirecTV lost about 222,000 customers in the first quarter of 2026, data shared with TheStreet.

Target's advertising revenue, most of which comes from Roundel, grew 51% year over year in the first quarter to $246 million. The ad business has been a bright spot as the big-box retailer tries to revive sales and reshape its image as a retailer offering stylish yet affordable goods. Net sales rose 6.7% in the three months ended May 2.