Verizon media network: what Verizon sells advertisers in 2026, and what it does not

Verizon once owned a large media company and sold it. Apollo bought Verizon Media, the business that combined AOL and Yahoo, in 2021 for $5 billion (PPC Land, February 2023). Any new Verizon network therefore starts from carrier assets, not from publisher websites. Readers looking for the old unit will find its ad business at Yahoo.

The 2026 job listing shows what Verizon planned. It described a newly formed division with product and ad tech, media sales and ad operations teams. The leader would own strategy for "premium lock-screen inventory, digital OOH, and owned properties", manage vendors such as Glance, and build clean room integrations (Built In NYC, 2026). The listing also named Legal and Privacy, with CPNI, as a close partner. Verizon has not announced who took the role or what launched.

Verizon already runs ad programs, described in its privacy policy rather than in a media kit. Under "Relevant Online Advertising", ads reach its Fios and Frontier internet customers on other websites. "Relevant TV Advertising" does the same on Fios TV. Both draw on Verizon, third-party and advertiser information, with an opt-out (Verizon privacy policy, October 2026). None of this is sold to brands as a named network. T-Mobile took the opposite route and built T-Mobile Advertising Solutions by acquisition.

Sources: Verizon privacy policy, October 2026; Verizon Lock Screen Rewards FAQs.

Lock Screen Rewards pays $5 in Verizon Dollars a month to customers who use the Glance app for at least 60 minutes. To qualify, a customer must not have opted out of data sharing for advertising and personalisation (Verizon, accessed 9 November 2026). The FAQ tells users to report unwanted ads inside Glance, which shows that ads run there. Who sells those ads, Verizon or Glance, is not stated.

Verizon's policy splits data into tiers. Custom Experience uses the sites and apps a customer visits to personalise Verizon's own marketing. That marketing "may include ads for Verizon services or third-party products and services sold by Verizon", and customers are in unless they opt out. Custom Experience Plus adds location and CPNI, such as numbers called, and requires opt-in (Verizon privacy policy).

Verizon also says it may give "business and marketing insights" to others from de-identified or aggregated data. The legal limits on each tier are explained in telecom media networks. A brand should ask which tier any future audience comes from.

Verizon's advertising programs "may also measure advertising campaign effectiveness", according to its privacy policy. No measurement product, reporting format or accreditation is published for advertisers. A clean room appears in the job listing as a planned capability.

1. Ask Verizon whether a media product exists yet. No public sales page or contact was found.
2. For Fios TV and online audiences, ask about the existing programs. The privacy policy says they use information provided by or for advertisers.
3. For lock-screen reach, check Glance. Ask Glance and Verizon who sells the inventory and on what terms.
4. Confirm the consent tier. Ask whether segments rest on opt-out data, opt-in CPNI data or aggregates.
5. Agree measurement in writing. Ask how exposure is matched to outcomes and whether a clean room is used.

It may suit:

• brands that want addressable TV reach among Fios households, if Verizon offers it;
• mobile-first brands interested in lock-screen placements through Glance.

It suits less, until a product launches:

• buyers who need a named network, rate card and sales contact;
• advertisers who want carrier data in their own DSP;
• teams that need published measurement.

• Whether Verizon has launched or named an advertising business since the job listing closed.
• Who sells ads in the Glance lock-screen program.
• Whether outside advertisers can buy Relevant Online or Relevant TV Advertising directly.
• Scale figures for any Verizon advertising surface.
• Verizon's newsroom position, since its news sitemap showed no advertising story in 2026.

1. Verizon, Privacy Policy (updated October 2026). https://www.verizon.com/about/privacy/full-privacy-policy
2. Verizon, "Lock Screen Rewards FAQs" (accessed 9 November 2026). https://www.verizon.com/support/lock-screen-rewards-faqs/
3. Built In NYC, Verizon "Senior Director, Advertising and Data Monetization" (2026; removed 31 August 2026). https://www.builtinnyc.com/job/senior-director-advertising-and-data-monetization/10445972
4. PPC Land, "Yahoo to shut down its SSP" (10 February 2023). https://ppc.land/yahoo-to-shut-down-their-ssp/