Rovio takes back its media business

The viral game of sling shooting a bird at green pigs have exploded into a business that comprises clothes, toys, movies, amusement parks, drinks, books and now, an ad business.So instead of giving a third party network power over its in-game display ads, Rovio will now gain advertising revenue from its own integrated ad unit; it will mostly integrate native ads into the game itself.“In a time when many companies delight in millions of app downloads, Angry Birds’ cross-platform media continuously reaches hundreds of millions of fans in a fun and engaging way,” said Andrew Stalbow, Rovio’s executive vice president for strategic partnerships.“With this incredible reach we are fast becoming one of the most important digital advertising destinations for global brands.”To fill the shoes of the new team are senior hires in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific: MTV veteran Betsy Flounders Novak and former Millennial Media executive Matt Pfeffer.Rovio’s move, however, doesn’t come at a surprise, seeing that the game saw more than one billion downloads in May 2012 and 263 million monthly active users by last December. Its YouTube channel, which features custom animations, saw nearly one billion views.