NYTimes Launches Network of Retail Screens, GM Among First Advertisers

Yahoo and General Motors are the first advertisers on NYTimes.com Today, a retail screens ad network that was previously known as RMG Networks' Urban Mobile Network. While RMG's version utilized content from the Associated Press, Weather.com, and various newspapers, NYTimes.com Today will draw text and video reports solely from the newspaper site's numerous editorial categories.

The companies announced the re-launched network and their partnership on Monday, but didn't disclose financial terms of the deal. The network's two-year-old infrastructure entails 850 digital screens in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Boston. While Yahoo and GM are the only advertisers currently on board, Donna Boyer, RMG's general manager for the project, suggested that other brands will soon emerge.

Boyer said Yahoo will focus on contextual ads for its iPhone app while GM's efforts will center on display ads that feature its car models. She characterized the new network as friendly to online marketers looking to repurpose successful display campaigns, due to the NYTimes.com Today's on-screen format/viewing experience being akin to the Web