AOL's Millennial Media deal underlines rise in automated ad buying

Programmatic ad buying predicted to account for more than half of the UK's 3bn digital display market this year, according to research

AOL's acquisition of mobile ad firm Millennial Media underlines the rapid rise of programmatic advertising, as new research shows that automated buying will grow massively this year and account for more than half of the UK's 3bn digital display market.

AOL, which was acquired by telecoms giant Verizon for $4.4bn in May, has paid $238m for the publicly listed Millennial Media.