Cox Digital Solutions, the market's first digital media solutions provider for national, regional and local agencies, advertisers and publishers, successfully completed the acquisition of the IB Local Network business and advertising sales group of Internet Broadcasting.

Through this acquisition, the company has made a strategic move to further enhance its foothold in the online advertising industry. This combination will help create a company with the scale and resources to deliver industry-leading solutions that address the rapidly growing market.

A division of New Yorkbased Cox Reps, Cox (News - Alert) Digital Solutions, with the acquisition, now has more than 150 employees across 10 markets. A unique mix of local and vertical content blended with industry-leading targeting, will be delivered by the new Cox Digital Solutions. The same will also provide a truly differentiated offering through its deep publisher relationships.

"Today is a significant step forward in securing our position in the market," said Steve Shaw (News - Alert), president of Cox Digital Solutions, in a press release. "IB Local Network's publisher relationships and media sales power are a natural fit with Cox Digital Solutions. This combination will enable us to meet a wider set of customer needs through a richer solution set, increase efficiencies, and significantly expand our opportunities for growth."

To ensure a smooth transition that will deliver value to customers and partners, Cox Digital Solutions has started integrating the companies' products, customers and employees.

With the sale of its local network business to Cox Digital Solutions, Internet Broadcasting is now able to fully focus on providing publishers with its digital publishing platform and services.

"We can now concentrate on what has always been our core business, helping our media publisher clients use their content and consumer relationships to build a powerful digital presence by providing them with the most contemporary publishing platform and services available in North America," said Roger Keating, interim CEO of Internet Broadcasting and SVP Digital Media for Hearst Television, in the release. "At the same time, by placing the IB Local Network with an outstanding organization like Cox, we're doing right by our former advertising clients and employees." 

In related news, Vivio has been appointed as new president of Cox Target (News - Alert) Media and Valpak. His appointment is a part Cox Media Group maximizing the expertise and talents of its industry-leading media professionals across its portfolio of radio, television, newspaper and direct marketing businesses, according to the company.