Launching this autumn, it will offer advertisers and agencies access to an audience of more than 39.4m people, offering buying at scale in brand-safe environments.

The Ozone Project has been developed in response to industry-wide concerns around brand safety, data governance, lack of transparency in the supply chain and ad fraud, as well as calls from advertisers for a single point of access to publisher inventory.

It will use advertisers’ first party CRM data along with publishers’ audiences and use sophisticated targeting across the combined inventories. By directly connecting brands, agencies and publishers, it will create a more transparent view of how segments are structured and where media is running.

Advertisers will be able to access the new platform through a single specialised Ozone Project sales team and it is hoped other quality publishers and partners will join over time.

Dominic Carter (pictured, right), group chief commercial officer at News UK, said: "This project has been driven by a shared ethos to create a channel for advertisers to gain direct access to publishers’ audiences at scale via a transparent and effective platform."

Dora Michail (pictured, centre), managing director of digital at The Telegraph, said: "Funding quality journalism is essential for the good of the media industry and society as a whole. The Ozone Project puts in place an infrastructure that creates a better marketplace for advertisers, consumers and publishers alike."

Hamish Nicklin, (pictured, left) chief revenue officer at Guardian News & Media, said: "The Ozone Project is a response to the challenges we all face and aims to facilitate the highest standard of digital advertising and ensure quality journalism and content continues to be funded."