TOP STORY
- Ad Revenue Slumps in Third Quarter
As the economy continues to tank and consumers tighten their purse strings, advertisers are also pulling back and companies that depend on ad dollars to punch up their bottom lines are feeling pinched. more » » »
GREAT IDEAS
- Comcast’s Real Estate On-Demand Flourishes
Nearly 100,000 Chicago-area digital cable customers are flocking to Comcast’s Real Estate On-Demand channel each month to tour new housing developments and resale home listings using their remote controls, and the viewing numbers are growing. more » » »
Q&A
- Q&A: OpenTV’s Paul Woidke
OpenTV senior VP and GM of advanced advertising talked to Local Ad Sales about the company’s deal with Comcast Spotlight and plans to include EclipsePlus advanced advertising product in several markets following the trial of the system in Baltimore. more » » »
BRIEFING ROOM
- VOD Ads Still Trying To Get Personal
For many years, vendors and cable operators have talked about developing a video-on-demand platform that would personalize the content viewers watched and the ads they received. Operators are now taking a significant step toward realizing one part of that dream with trials of two new addressable advertising systems that deliver ads targeted to the demographic characteristics of a home. Cablevision Systems has launched trials on 30 networks in 100,000 homes. Comcast will start a similar test this month in 70,000 homes with eight networks in Baltimore. For longtime proponents of VOD advertising there is only one disappointing aspect to these tests: They are occurring on linear channels, not on-demand platforms. more » » »
- Canoe Execs Plot Ad Venture's Course
Executives with the Canoe Ventures, the multi-operator-owned advanced-advertising startup, tried to explain what the company is and is not during the CTAM Summit in Boston. The company wants to be a service bureau for cable networks and their advertisers to place and track targeted and interactive TV spots across multiple MSOs and cable networks. Canoe’s three main product areas will be addressability, interactive advertising and data. more » » »
- Media Storm Expands DirecTV Advanced Media Deal
Media Storm has renewed an eight-figure advertising-revenue producer deal to use DirecTV for interactive TV and advanced advertising applications. The renewal allows Media Storm to continue its work of blending traditional 30-second spots with advanced-ad opportunities. Media Storm has recently run DirecTV iTV campaigns for clients Food Network, HGTV, SPEED, WE tv, NFL Network and Magnolia Pictures. more » » »
- Canoe Could Take Cable Upstream
Cable operators and vendors love to pump up advanced advertising as The Next Big Thing for the industry, according to Alan Breznick, an analyst with Light Reading. They wax on about the industry's ability to use interactive, on-demand, and addressable technologies to transform, if not revolutionize, the TV advertising business and generate gobs of fresh revenue for cable. Such bullish thinking recently prompted the six biggest U.S. MSOs to launch an ambitious effort called Canoe Ventures. This joint venture is designed to support various advanced advertising solutions, including interactive TV applications, dynamic ad insertion for VOD, and geographic and demographic targeting of viewers. All of which sounds very good. One looming question, though, is just how big a thing advanced
advertising really could be for the cable industry. Paul Delzio, director of on-demand product strategies for Arris Group, estimated that a mix of interactive TV, targeted, dynamic VOD, and request-for-information (RFI) ads could produce at least "a $6 billion revenue upside" for cable operators. In fact, he set the figure at slightly over $6.3 billion, or $67 per cable home passed, which is more than the $5.9 billion that the industry now makes on local cable advertising. more » » »
- Ad Sales Boost TWC Nets in Q3
Despite the ravages of a slumping advertising market, Time Warner's cable networks unit enjoyed a robust third quarter, upping its ad sales revenue by 9% versus the prior-year period, to $772 million. The Turner nets now appear to represent the most "recession-proof" ad-supported cable properties, having thus far out-performed the rest of the marketplace, according to Mediaweek. Scripps Networks isn’t far behind, last week posting a 5.4% lift in third quarter sales. Conversely, Viacom’s domestic ad sales fell 3% as MTV Networks saw pullback in categories such as automotive, beverages and videogames. The election season was particularly kind to CNN with ratings up substantially. It's unclear whether the network will be able to sustain those ratings. more » » »
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AD BYTES
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Arris Group’s Advanced Advertising Manager solution has successfully interconnected with systems of several leading Advanced Advertising Decision Service (ADS) and Campaign Manager providers at its labs in Beaverton, Ore., the company announced earlier this month. The ability of multiple vendors to work together lowers the cost of technology and speeds its time-to-market, Arris said.
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Motorola is partnering with multiplatform ad management systems provider BlackArrow to deliver an SCTE 130-compliant addressable advertising solution that enables advertisers and content providers to exert exacting control over ad placement and generate revenue through additional advertising opportunities. Combining Motorola’s B1 VOD video server with BlackArrow’s ad management product will enable providers to dynamically insert targeted ads at any point in on-demand content.
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Hallmark Channel launched its latest local ad sales campaign in conjunction with the upcoming holidays. Participating operators agree to run 300 cross-channel spots and in exchange will receive a six-day/five-night trip for two to Istanbul, Turkey. To date, affiliates representing 18 million subscribers within the top 30 markets have signed up to participate, according to the company. The promotion window runs from Nov. 16-Dec. 27 and during that time, Hallmark will premiere six new original holiday movies.
PEOPLE
Canoe Ventures named Vicki Lins chief marketing officer in charge of marketing and communications. She had been interim CMO and senior VP of marketing and communications for Comcast Spotlight. Spotlight will now begin a search to replace Lins, the company said.
Former CableLabs attorney Michael Davis has joined Canoe as general counsel. Davis had been responsible for providing legal and business counseling on several development projects including advanced advertising and Tru2Way interactive TV technology.
Nielsen Co. promoted Susan Whiting to the post of vice chairperson. She will join chairman/CEO David Calhoun in the newly created Office of the CEO, providing oversight and direction to the company’s initiatives and operations. Whiting will also retain her old title of executive VP.
Marc LeSage joined Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic in Bethesda, Md., as VP of sales. He comes from IdeaCast Networks, where he was senior VP of advertising sales.
Media buyer Carat named Doug Ray executive VP and leader of the North American Procter & Gamble business. He had been senior VP and group director of communications planning. |
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