Disney: Surfers Like Variety
by Linda Haugsted -- Multichannel News, 2/2/2009 2:00:00 AM
Las Vegas — Disney-ABC Television Group research indicates Web viewers might accept up to eight interactive ads per online streaming-video episode without losing satisfaction or being less likely to use the player that delivers the increased ads.
Executive vice president of digital media Albert Cheng discussed those findings during a National Association of Television Programming Executives Conference panel on Jan. 29. He said tests included eight different advertisers within an episode, with two spots programmed per advertising break.
Today, most television episodes stream with up to four ads in four breaks, often the same commercial message each time. Cheng said it appeared users in the test enjoyed not having to sit through the same ad multiple times, and that brand recall remained the same despite having multiple advertisers in the test.
The ABC.com portal uses interactive ads for 60% of its shows. In one instance Cheng cited, three different interactive ads for the same product, orange juice, ran. Each advertisement resulted in a full-screen takeover.
The first in the series of ads let consumers link away from the current ad for more information about orange juice before coming back to the episode.
The second ad was an interactive, pinata-themed game.
The third was a series of trivia questions.
Consumers were required to watch or interact for at least 30 seconds before they were allowed to return to the episode. Some viewers stayed with the ad content beyond the 30-second limit, he said.
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