New York City DOOH Guide · 2026

DOOH Advertising in New York City

AdQuick aggregates NYC's 30,000+ digital screens -- Times Square spectaculars, the MTA subway, 1,800+ LinkNYC kiosks, JFK/LGA/EWR, and place-based screens in bars, gyms, offices, and taxis -- into one plan-buy-measure platform. CPMs $7 programmatic to $75+ on Times Square; from $1,500 to seven-figure takeovers.

Campaigns can be activated with budgets as low as $1,500 on programmatic DSPs or customized into seven-figure takeovers. New York is the single largest and most expensive DOOH market in the United States.

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30,000+ digital screens
$1,500 campaign minimum
Unified measurement
Direct + programmatic
30,000+
NYC digital screens
$7–$75+
CPM range (street to Times Square)
62%
New Yorkers notice DOOH weekly
$1,500
Minimum programmatic campaign
Access all DOOH formats
Digital Billboards
Transit & Airport
Place-Based
Programmatic

DOOH Advertising in New York City

DOOH advertising in New York City spans roughly 30,000+ digital screens across Times Square spectaculars, the MTA subway system, 1,800+ LinkNYC kiosks, three major airports (JFK, LGA, EWR), and thousands of place-based screens in bars, gyms, offices, and taxis. CPMs range from $7 on programmatic street-level inventory to $75+ on Times Square spectaculars.

Overview

What is DOOH advertising in New York City?

Digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising is programmatically- or direct-sold advertising delivered on digital screens in public environments — as opposed to printed vinyl on static billboards. In New York City, DOOH inventory is unusually dense and vertically stacked: the same audience can be reached on a subway platform screen, a LinkNYC sidewalk kiosk, a Times Square LED, a taxi topper, and an office lobby screen across a single morning commute. This concentration is why 62% of New Yorkers report noticing DOOH ads weekly, one of the highest notice rates of any urban market in the country.

The Four NYC DOOH Inventory Layers

For most brands, a NYC DOOH plan blends four inventory layers. All four can be bought programmatically through AdQuick or piecemeal through individual media owners.

Iconic Takeover

Times Square spectaculars, Herald Square, Columbus Circle, Hudson Yards.

Transit DOOH

MTA subway platforms, digital liveboards, Grand Central, Penn Station, Port Authority.

Street-Level DOOH

LinkNYC kiosks, digital bus shelters, taxi toppers, rideshare screens.

Place-Based DOOH

Office lobbies, gyms, bars, restaurants, medical offices, retail media screens.

Why NYC DOOH delivers: screen density, dwell, audience value.

New York routinely absorbs 12–18% of national DOOH budgets despite representing a smaller share of national population.

62%
Of New Yorkers notice DOOH ads on a weekly basis
83%
Of commuters pass at least one MTA DOOH screen daily
1.5M+
Daily pedestrian impressions from Times Square alone
8–18%
Foot traffic lift to nearby retail within 30 days
PRICING DATA

New York City DOOH Advertising Cost

NYC DOOH pricing varies more by venue type than any other market in the US. A programmatic open-exchange impression on a Harlem bodega screen and a direct-sold Times Square spectacular can differ by 20x or more. The table below reflects current AdQuick marketplace rates and industry benchmarks for Q2 2026.

Venue Category Typical NYC CPM Monthly SOV Range Best For
Times Square spectaculars (direct) $45–$75+ $75K–$500K+ Brand flagships, product launches, cultural moments
Hudson Yards / Columbus Circle LEDs $30–$55 $40K–$150K Premium awareness, luxury, finance
JFK / LGA / EWR airport screens $25–$50 $15K–$80K Travel, B2B, premium retail, tourism
MTA subway platform screens $14–$28 $8K–$40K per cluster Reach, commuter audiences, QSR, CPG
MTA digital liveboards (station concourse) $12–$22 $6K–$25K Commuters, retail, entertainment
LinkNYC street-level kiosks $8–$18 $3K–$12K per cluster Hyperlocal reach, pedestrian, neighborhood targeting
Digital bus shelters (IKE / JCDecaux) $7–$15 $2.5K–$8K Pedestrians, transit riders
Taxi toppers (Firefly, Curb) $6–$14 $1K–$5K per vehicle cluster Urban reach, nightlife, late-night dayparts
Office building / elevator screens $12–$22 $4K–$15K B2B, financial services, HR tech
Gym / health club screens $10–$18 $3K–$10K Wellness, CPG, DTC
Bar / restaurant screens $8–$15 $2K–$7K Food & beverage, entertainment, spirits
Retail media in-store screens $8–$25 Varies by retailer Shopper marketing, CPG
Programmatic open exchange (blended) $5–$15 N/A (impression-based) Always-on, mid-funnel, DSP-driven

What Drives NYC DOOH CPMs

Four variables push NYC pricing above every other US market:

Venue prestige and dwell time. A Times Square screen facing the Red Steps delivers 250,000+ daily impressions with 20+ minute dwells. That audience density is not replicable outside NYC.
Dayparting premiums. Morning rush (6–10am), evening rush (4–8pm), and late-night weekend windows in Manhattan carry 20–40% premiums over off-peak.
Creative format and size. Spectacular inventory with custom dimensions, motion, and audio commands 3–5x standard LED CPMs.
Programmatic vs. direct. Programmatic guaranteed (PG) deals on the same physical screen typically run 15–30% below direct rate-card, while open-exchange impressions on fringe inventory can clear at $3–$7 CPM.

NYC DOOH Pricing Models

Unlike static billboards, NYC DOOH is sold under four distinct pricing models. Always clarify which applies before comparing quotes:

CPM

Standard for programmatic and most place-based networks.

Share of Voice

Monthly flat rate for X% of the loop on a given screen or cluster (common for MTA, LinkNYC, and direct Times Square).

Per-play / Per-slot

Some networks price per insertion in a fixed loop.

Impression-Based Guaranteed

Pay for a guaranteed impression count regardless of time (standard for PG deals on Vistar, Place Exchange, and VIOOH).

VENUES & CORRIDORS

NYC DOOH Venues and Iconic Corridors

New York DOOH planning is hyperlocal. The same budget can produce wildly different outcomes depending on which corridors and venues are activated. Below are the clusters most AdQuick buyers pair together.

Midtown Manhattan

Times Square (Broadway/7th Ave, 42nd–49th): spectaculars, Nasdaq tower, One Times Square, TSX Broadway
Herald Square / 34th Street: pedestrian-heavy, retail-adjacent
Columbus Circle / Time Warner Center: affluent, luxury, media buyer proximity
Grand Central / Penn Station / Port Authority: commuter captive audiences

Downtown & West Side

Hudson Yards / Vessel: premium luxury, finance, tech
Chelsea / Meatpacking: younger, creative, nightlife
Wall Street / Financial District: B2B, finance, pre-market dayparts
SoHo / Tribeca: retail, fashion, DTC brands

Brooklyn & Queens

Williamsburg / Bushwick: Gen Z, millennial, creator economy brands
Downtown Brooklyn / Barclays Center: entertainment, sports, concerts
Long Island City: commuter, residential-to-Manhattan pipeline
Flushing / Jackson Heights: multicultural audiences, retail media

Transit Anchors

MTA subway platforms: ~470 stations, digital screens concentrated at high-traffic hubs
LinkNYC: 1,800+ kiosks across all five boroughs, most dense in Manhattan and central Brooklyn
JFK, LaGuardia, Newark: inbound/outbound travel, international, premium

Upper Manhattan / Bronx

125th Street corridor / Harlem: cultural programming, multicultural reach
Yankee Stadium / Fordham Road: sports, regional retail
PROGRAMMATIC

Programmatic DOOH (pDOOH) in New York City

Programmatic DOOH is the fastest-growing slice of the NYC market. It lets buyers activate NYC screens with the same DSP workflows used for display or CTV, with mobile audience extension, dayparting, and contextual triggers (weather, traffic, sports scores, pollen counts, stock ticks).

Major DSPs buying NYC DOOH inventory

AdQuick

Full-stack DOOH DSP with access to every major NYC media owner and every programmatic SSP — direct and programmatic in one seat.

Vistar Media

Leading pDOOH demand-side platform.

Broadsign Ads

Broadsign's programmatic DSP.

VIOOH

JCDecaux's global pDOOH platform.

StackAdapt DOOH

Multi-channel DSP with DOOH integrations.

The Trade Desk

OpenPath DOOH inventory path.

Yahoo DSP

Omnichannel DSP with DOOH supply.

Adomni

DOOH platform.

Major SSPs / networks with NYC inventory

Broadsign Reach

Broadsign's supply-side platform.

Place Exchange

OUTFRONT's SSP, strong on MTA subway.

VIOOH SSP

JCDecaux's SSP, strong on street furniture.

Hivestack SSP

Sell-side supply for pDOOH networks.

Vistar SSP

Strong on place-based and office.

Programmatic Deal Types in NYC

Deal Type How It Works NYC Use Case
Open exchange Auction-based, any buyer wins Budget-efficient always-on reach; fringe inventory
Private marketplace (PMP) Invite-only auction, curated inventory Category exclusivity, brand-safe contexts
Programmatic guaranteed (PG) Fixed price, reserved impressions Times Square / MTA / LinkNYC reserved at scale

Contextual and Moment-Based Activation

NYC is one of the richest markets in the country for contextual DOOH triggers because of screen density and data availability. Common trigger patterns:

Weather-reactive — a coffee brand pushes iced-drink creative on LinkNYC when temperatures exceed 78°F
Sports scores — a sportsbook updates creative on taxi toppers and bar screens based on live Mets/Yankees/Knicks/Rangers scores
Traffic and transit delays — a rideshare brand activates when MTA delays are reported
Inventory and price — a retailer rotates creative based on store-level stock or surge pricing
Cultural moments — premieres, award shows, concerts at MSG or Barclays can trigger geo-fenced DOOH around the venue
MEASUREMENT

How NYC DOOH Advertising Is Measured

Every serious NYC DOOH plan is validated with at least one measurement partner. Buyers increasingly demand the same attribution rigor they apply to CTV and digital display.

1. Impression Methodology

Geopath is the OAAA-backed measurement standard. It provides audited impression counts (in "eyes on" / visibility-adjusted contacts) for virtually all OOH inventory in the US, including NYC. Every reputable NYC media owner reports Geopath numbers.

Operator-reported impressions — vendor-provided counts, often reconciled against Geopath
Mobile panel-based verification — Kochava, Foursquare, Adelaide

2. Attribution Approaches

Foot traffic lift — matching mobile IDs exposed to a DOOH impression with visits to a physical location. Placed (Foursquare), Kochava, and AdQuick's native attribution are standard.
Online conversion lift — web visits, app installs, e-commerce conversions from exposed vs. control households
Sales lift / MMM — matched-market analysis for CPG and retail brands
Brand lift studies — awareness, recall, favorability delta vs. control, via panels or on-site intercepts
FOOT TRAFFIC WINDOW7–30 days
HIGH-CONSIDERATION WINDOWUp to 90 days
FOOT TRAFFIC LIFT (NYC)8–18%
DOOH + MOBILE RETARGETING2–3×
WEEKLY DOOH NOTICE RATE62%
DAILY MTA DOOH EXPOSURE83%

Core NYC DOOH KPIs: impressions (VAC), reach & frequency, CPM / eCPM, foot traffic lift, share of voice.

Because NYC is one of the most measurement-mature markets globally, attribution windows for DOOH are typically 7–30 days for foot traffic and up to 90 days for high-consideration categories (auto, finance).

CREATIVE SPECS

DOOH Creative Specs for New York City

NYC creative specs follow industry standards but layer on venue-specific variations. Most campaigns deliver three to five asset variants to cover the full plan.

Aspect Ratios & Resolutions

1920×1080 (16:9) — most digital bulletins, subway digital liveboards, office lobbies
1080×1920 (9:16) — LinkNYC kiosks, taxi toppers, portrait digital bus shelters
Custom ultra-wide — Times Square spectaculars often require 3840×1080 or bespoke dimensions; the Nasdaq Tower is essentially a custom creative every time
Square (1080×1080) — some place-based and retail media screens

File Formats & Delivery

MP4 (H.264), MOV, JPG, PNG accepted on most networks
Max file size typically 100–500 MB depending on operator
Delivery via AdQuick portal, Vistar, Broadsign, or direct operator FTP

Duration

Standard slot lengths: 7.5, 8, 10, or 15 seconds
Loop length: 60–90 seconds on most NYC networks; Times Square loops vary by screen
MTA subway digital liveboards: 8–15 second slots in rotating loops

Motion & Animation

Fully permitted on all NYC DOOH except a small subset of DOT-regulated roadside digital bulletins on NYC-area highways
Audio almost never supported on outdoor/street-level screens; allowed in cinema, some bars, and specific place-based venues
Dynamic creative optimization (DCO) supported on Vistar, Hivestack, Place Exchange, and VIOOH

Creative Best Practices for NYC

Design for 3-second readability — New Yorkers walk past at 3–4 mph and are often looking at phones
Keep body copy minimal; use the 1/10 rule (text height ≥ 1/10 of viewable screen height)
Build for portrait on LinkNYC, taxi toppers, and bus shelters — don't letterbox landscape creative
Times Square: lean into motion, contrast, and brand-first imagery; copy is often secondary
VENDOR LANDSCAPE

DOOH Companies in New York City

The NYC DOOH market includes dozens of media owners, DSPs, and networks. Below is a neutral view of the most active players and where each fits.

Media Owners & Network Operators

Intersection

Operates LinkNYC (1,800+ street-level kiosks) and a meaningful share of NYC transit and street furniture.

Street Furniture · Transit

OUTFRONT Media

Holds the MTA subway and bus contract; operates Times Square, Bronx, Brooklyn, and premium Manhattan inventory.

Transit · Times Square

Clear Channel Outdoor

Strong NYC-area roadside digital bulletins, airport inventory at LGA and EWR.

Roadside · Airport

JCDecaux

Airport screens at JFK, some street furniture, premium Manhattan placements.

Airport · Street Furniture

Clear Channel Airports

JFK and select terminal inventory.

Airport

Screenverse

Aggregator and network for place-based and street-level inventory.

Place-Based · Aggregator

Captivate

Office elevator and lobby screens across Midtown and Downtown Manhattan.

Office / Lobby

Firefly

Rideshare-top DOOH screens on taxis and Ubers.

Rideshare

Curb / CMG

Taxi toppers and in-taxi screens.

Taxi

Vibenomics, Zoom Media, Rev

Bar, restaurant, gym, and retail place-based networks.

Place-Based

GSTV

Fuel station DOOH at gas stations in the NYC metro.

Fuel / C-Store

DSPs Actively Buying NYC Inventory

AdQuick, Vistar Media, Broadsign Ads, VIOOH, StackAdapt, The Trade Desk (OpenPath DOOH), Adomni, Yahoo DSP.

AdQuick — The Marketplace Above the Landscape

AdQuick is the only marketplace aggregating direct inventory from every major NYC media owner alongside programmatic pDOOH, with native planning, mapping, creative delivery, and measurement built in. AdQuick sits above the vendor landscape, letting buyers plan a unified NYC campaign across Times Square, MTA, LinkNYC, airports, and place-based without stitching together six vendor contracts.

COMPLIANCE

NYC DOOH Regulations and Compliance

New York City has some of the most specific DOOH placement rules in the country. Most media owners handle permitting, but buyers should know what shapes availability and timeline.

Zoning and Placement

NYC zoning (NYC Zoning Resolution §32-67, §42-55, and subsequent amendments) restricts new outdoor advertising signs in most commercial zones outside designated advertising districts. Most of Manhattan south of 96th Street is heavily restricted for new signage; existing inventory is grandfathered and high-demand.

Special Midtown District & Times Square signage requirements — Times Square properties are required to display illuminated signage (a uniquely permissive regulatory regime that created the market's spectaculars).
Arterial Highway restrictions — NY State DOT restricts digital bulletin motion and dwell on some metro highways (NJ and NY DOT rules apply near airports and bridges).

Transit

MTA DOOH inventory is controlled by OUTFRONT under a long-term concession; creative must pass MTA's content-standards review. Subway platform and station content may restrict certain categories (political, alcohol in some contexts, cannabis, firearms).

LinkNYC and Street Furniture

LinkNYC (operated by Intersection / CityBridge) has a published content policy; creative must comply with franchise agreement restrictions. All street-level creative goes through the operator's acceptance review before schedule start.

Category Restrictions (vary by operator)

Alcohol: permitted on most inventory except MTA near-school buffer zones and LinkNYC kiosks within 500 feet of schools
Cannabis: generally restricted on MTA and most airport inventory; permitted on some private place-based networks
Political: permitted, but subject to disclosure requirements and media owner review; lead times tighten in the 60 days before an election
Pharma: permitted with standard DTC disclosures; airport and transit review required
Firearms, adult content, tobacco: broadly restricted

Lead Times

Programmatic (Vistar, Hivestack, Place Exchange, VIOOH): 24–72 hours for creative approval
Direct NYC DOOH: 5–15 business days depending on venue and content
Times Square spectaculars and MTA high-profile placements: 2–4 weeks for creative review and production
BUDGET EXAMPLES

NYC DOOH Budget Examples

The modularity of DOOH — cheap creative, flexible dates, programmatic on/off — lets NYC campaigns scale across three very different tiers.

Tier 1: Test Campaign
$3,500 total

30-day programmatic pDOOH test in Manhattan south of 96th, targeting a 1-mile radius of a launch store.

Media: $2,500 programmatic pDOOH via AdQuick or Vistar, targeting LinkNYC + place-based in a 1-mile radius of a launch store
Creative: $500 (9:16 portrait video + 16:9 landscape, in-house or AdQuick creative)
Measurement: $500 Geopath impressions report + AdQuick foot traffic attribution
Duration: 30 days, Manhattan south of 96th
Tier 2: Mid-Market Campaign
$45,000 total

Blended direct + programmatic campaign across four boroughs with morning and evening rush dayparting.

Media: $30,000 blended — $15K MTA subway platform cluster + $10K LinkNYC across Brooklyn and Manhattan + $5K programmatic extension
Creative: $3,500 (three asset variants, motion graphics, NYC-specific localization)
Measurement: $3,500 (foot traffic lift study, brand lift panel, Geopath validation)
Production and contingency: $8,000
Duration: 8 weeks, four boroughs, morning/evening rush dayparts
Tier 3: National Flagship with NYC Flagship
$350,000+ per quarter

Full five-borough activation with Times Square or Hudson Yards spectacular anchor, MTA takeover, and airport extension.

Times Square or Hudson Yards direct buy: $125K–$200K for premium spectacular share-of-voice
MTA takeover (subway + digital liveboards): $60K–$100K
Programmatic DOOH extension (Vistar + Place Exchange PG): $50K–$80K across five boroughs and three airports
Place-based layer (offices, gyms, bars): $25K–$50K
Creative production: $20K–$40K (custom Times Square ratio, motion, variant set)
Measurement and reporting: $15K–$30K (full attribution stack: Geopath, foot traffic, brand lift, MMM inputs)
EFFECTIVENESS

NYC DOOH Effectiveness

New York is uniquely measurement-rich, and the data consistently favors DOOH as a high-recall, high-reach channel.

62% of New Yorkers report noticing DOOH ads on a weekly basis, among the highest urban notice rates in the US.
83% of commuters pass at least one MTA DOOH screen daily.
Times Square alone delivers 1.5M+ daily pedestrian impressions, with international tourism layering on top.
Foot traffic lift studies on NYC DOOH campaigns typically show 8–18% uplift to nearby retail locations within a 30-day window for exposed mobile IDs vs. control.
DOOH + mobile retargeting campaigns in NYC commonly report 2–3x the conversion rate of mobile-only campaigns, as DOOH exposure is used as an audience signal for mobile extension.

These numbers are why NYC routinely absorbs 12–18% of national DOOH budgets despite representing a smaller share of national population — the market's screen density, dwell time, and audience value are disproportionate.

HOW TO BUY

How to Buy DOOH Advertising in New York City

There are three paths to buy NYC DOOH inventory.

01

Direct with Each Media Owner

Contact Intersection for LinkNYC, OUTFRONT for MTA and Times Square, JCDecaux for airports, etc. Best for single-venue flagship buys. Downside: six or more contracts and no unified measurement.

02

Programmatic Self-Serve via a DSP

Open a seat on AdQuick, Vistar, The Trade Desk, or StackAdapt. Best for always-on mid-market campaigns. Downside: limited access to premium direct inventory and no creative-production support.

03

Through AdQuick

Plan, price, buy, deliver creative, and measure across every NYC DOOH inventory layer — direct and programmatic — in one platform. Best for campaigns that blend premium venues with programmatic extension.

FAQ

Common questions about NYC DOOH advertising.

Answers to the questions NYC DOOH buyers ask most often — pricing, minimums, programmatic, measurement, and regulation.

DOOH advertising in New York City is digital out-of-home advertising displayed on the city's roughly 30,000+ digital screens, including Times Square spectaculars, MTA subway screens, LinkNYC kiosks, airport displays, taxi toppers, and place-based screens in offices, gyms, and restaurants. It differs from static billboards in that creative is delivered digitally, often updated daily or in response to real-time triggers, and is transacted both direct and programmatically.
NYC DOOH costs range from about $5 CPM on programmatic open exchange inventory to $75+ CPM on Times Square spectaculars. Monthly share-of-voice on a LinkNYC kiosk cluster starts around $3,000; a Times Square spectacular can exceed $500,000 per month. Test campaigns on programmatic DSPs can launch for as little as $1,500–$2,500, while national flagship campaigns typically run $250K+ per quarter.
The practical minimum is about $1,500–$2,500 on a programmatic DSP like AdQuick or Vistar, which buys enough NYC open-exchange impressions for a meaningful 30-day test. Direct buys on LinkNYC, MTA, or place-based networks typically start at $3,000–$10,000 per month. Times Square direct buys start well into five figures.
Programmatic DOOH uses DSPs like AdQuick, Vistar, StackAdapt, and The Trade Desk to buy NYC screen impressions through auctions — open exchange, private marketplace, or programmatic guaranteed. Creative can be targeted by venue, daypart, audience, or contextual triggers (weather, sports scores, traffic). In New York, pDOOH is especially strong for LinkNYC, MTA digital liveboards, place-based networks, and taxi toppers.
LinkNYC is Intersection's network of 1,800+ sidewalk kiosks across New York City with large portrait digital screens. LinkNYC advertising runs roughly $8–$18 CPM programmatically or $3,000–$12,000 per month for share-of-voice on a cluster. It's among the most effective DOOH inventory for hyperlocal, neighborhood-level targeting in all five boroughs.
Times Square advertising spans a wide range. Spectacular share-of-voice on a premium LED (Nasdaq Tower, One Times Square, TSX Broadway, American Eagle) typically runs $75,000–$500,000+ per month depending on screen, loop share, and creative duration. Programmatic access to select Times Square digital inventory can be had for $40–$75 CPM. Custom takeovers for tentpole moments can exceed $1M.
NYC DOOH is measured using Geopath's visibility-adjusted impression standard, vendor-reported impressions, and third-party attribution from partners like Kochava, Foursquare, Placed, and Adelaide. Attribution approaches include foot traffic lift, online conversion lift, brand lift studies, and matched-market sales lift. AdQuick's marketplace surfaces Geopath impressions and foot traffic attribution natively.
Most NYC DOOH inventory accepts 1920×1080 (16:9 landscape) or 1080×1920 (9:16 portrait) MP4 or JPG files. LinkNYC, taxi toppers, and bus shelters require portrait. Times Square spectaculars often require custom ultra-wide dimensions (3840×1080 or bespoke). Standard slot length is 7.5–15 seconds in a 60–90 second loop. Motion is fully supported; audio is almost never supported on outdoor screens.
NYC restricts most new outdoor signage outside designated advertising districts (Times Square, the Special Midtown District, and specific zoned corridors). Existing inventory is largely grandfathered. MTA, LinkNYC, and airport inventory each have operator-specific content review, with tighter standards around alcohol, cannabis, firearms, political, and pharma. Creative approval lead times run from 24 hours (programmatic) to 4 weeks (Times Square spectaculars).
Yes — programmatic DOOH makes NYC screens accessible to small and mid-sized advertisers that couldn't historically afford the market. A local retailer, restaurant, or service business can launch a geo-fenced LinkNYC or place-based campaign for $1,500–$5,000 and measure foot traffic lift to a specific address. The city's screen density means even small budgets can deliver meaningful reach inside a 1–5 mile radius.

Plan Your New York DOOH Campaign

AdQuick is the only DOOH marketplace that unifies Times Square, MTA, LinkNYC, airports, place-based, and programmatic inventory in a single plan. Price inventory by CPM and share-of-voice, deliver creative to every network, and measure impressions, reach, frequency, and foot traffic lift from one dashboard.

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