Coda

Disney Lab Tracks Feelings

New York — Advertisers may know roughly how many people watch a given TV program. But how does television make viewers feel?

That’s one of the questions The Walt Disney Co. wanted to answer with its advertising-research facility in Austin, Texas, which the company touted in a presentation last week.

Traditional TV-measurement techniques gauge what viewers “see and say” but don’t measure “what they feel and think,” said Peter Seymour, executive vice president of Disney Media Networks strategy and research. The Media Networks segment encompasses the Disney/ABC Television Group, ESPN, Disney Channel, ABC Family and other properties.

The Disney Media & Advertising Lab began conducting its first research projects in December 2008. To date it has fielded 16 studies and has 25 more in various stages.

The lab’s goal is to decipher physical and emotional responses to television and other forms of video using proven scientific methods, said executive director Duane Varan. “Television is an intrinsically emotional experience,” Varan said. “Fundamentally, we often can’t articulate what is driving our behavior.”

The lab measures three primary types of physiological feedback: heart rate, skin conductivity and eye movement, to track where viewers are looking at the screen. The lab uses a goggle-based eye tracking system as well as a stereoscopic camera system that constructs a 3-D model of the viewer’s head.

So, what has Disney learned so far? Mainly that some ad formats and approaches work better than others.

Seymour said one study demonstrated a notable lift in ad recall from product placement in ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

What didn’t work as well: ABC promos on the lower third of the screen were only effective when preceded by a video promo. “For us, it was a little bit of a disappointing result,” Seymour said.

— Todd Spangler

Fox Reality Grooms Show for VOD

New York — Fox Reality Channel is testing the video-on-demand-premiere waters, with original series Househusbands of Hollywood which will be available to digital customers 12 days before its linear bow.

Beginning today (Aug. 3), 30 million Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox, Dish, Verizon FiOS TV and AT&T U-verse TV customers can access the series via VOD. The show, focusing on five couples in which the wife is the primary breadwinner, will premiere on the network Aug. 15. Subsequent installments will hit VOD a day after they run on Fox Reality.

“We’ve seen some improvement with viewers with VOD premieres in some markets, compared with markets without them,” said Fox vice president of advanced services Will Flannery.

Fox Reality has secured promotional support in the forms of cross-channel spots, menu and I-Guide placements and mailers with one of the carriers. The network is also ramping up print, cross-channel and radio promotion for the series.

— Mike Reynolds

Pique Over Padres

Washington — A pair of California congressmen have written Federal Communications Commission chairman Julius Genachowski saying Cox’s decision not to sell San Diego Padres games to competitive video providers is “untenable” and should be “reviewed.”

Reps. Bob Filner (D-Calif.) and Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), say that Cox’s “conduct” has had a “major negative impact” on competition for video programming in San Diego. The FCC has already decided that Cox did not violate its program access rules, summarily dismissing a complaint by AT&T.

While only Cox subscribers can get the Padres games, they don’t have to be Cox video subscribers. That is because last month Cox began streaming Padres games to its broadband customers.

— John Eggerton

Disney Takes a Dip

Burbank, Calif. — The Walt Disney Co. struggled through another tough quarter, as declines across the board drove revenue down 7% to $8.6 billion and segment operating income plunged 20% to $1.8 billion for the period ended June 30.

Media networks — which includes the Disney Channel, ABC Family and ESPN — fared the best, with revenue down just 2%, while segment operating income dipped 13% for the period.

At the cable networks, revenue dipped 1% to $2.6 billion while segment operating income declined 8% to $1.1 billion, driven by weaker ad sales at ESPN.

— Mike Farrell