{
  "id": 16617098,
  "title": "Stagwell buys Freestar, putting publisher ad sales inside a holdco",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/26/stagwell-buys-freestar-putting-publisher-ad-sales-inside-a-holdco",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-10-26T14:30:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Digiday",
    "slug": "digiday",
    "url": "https://digiday.com/media-buying/stagwell-buys-freestar-putting-publisher-ad-sales-inside-a-holdco/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Stagwell has acquired Freestar, a publisher ad sales company, and placed it inside its Owned Media unit. The deal, announced on October 26, brings Freestar's operations under the umbrella of Owned Media, which has been expanding since gaining a CEO in February. Properties such as Ink, a travel publisher, and airport network ReachTV, will now utilize Freestar's programmatic sales capabilities. Freestar's own publisher clients will be integrated, granting them a more direct route to advertisers and access to Stagwell's network resources. Ben Berenstone, CEO of Owned Media at Stagwell, emphasized the importance of publishers in a thriving media ecosystem and the potential for growth through the combined efforts of Stagwell and Freestar, both committed to advancing the industry and supporting their shared objectives.",
  "summary": "Publishers have long wished agencies would put their money where their panel talking points are. Stagwell has done something adjacent.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}