People watching full episodes of NBC shows online at NBC.com will have more control over the ads they see through new tools to be introduced on the site, the network said. It announced a series of changes to the way it delivers ads on those videos. Viewers will be able to select the ads they see, and when during programs. In some cases they will be able to watch a longer ad before the program, then watch the show uninterrupted. Ads will also appear when viewers pause the video. New ad formats such as a push-back unit what appears under the clip within the video, a rail ad that will surround the video player and a new pop-out player will also be introduced. “It is possible to give our users a rewarding entertainment experience and provide our advertisers with an effective marketing environment,” said Vivi Zigler, president of NBC Universal Digital Entertainment.
People watching full episodes of NBC shows online at NBC.com will have more control over the ads they see through new tools to be introduced on the site, the network said. It announced a series of changes to the way it delivers ads on those videos. Viewers will be able to select the ads they see, and when during programs. In some cases they will be able to watch a longer ad before the program, then watch the show uninterrupted. Ads will also appear when viewers pause the video. New ad formats such as a push-back unit what appears under the clip within the video, a rail ad that will surround the video player and a new pop-out player will also be introduced. “It is possible to give our users a rewarding entertainment experience and provide our advertisers with an effective marketing environment,” said Vivi Zigler, president of NBC Universal Digital Entertainment.
Targeted ads and the ability to watch video on demand using a wide array of devices for cable subscribers (CD March 24 p12) is nearer to reality as operators settle on non- proprietary standards and vendors work together on new products, executives told us. Interactive TV for the sake of keeping cable subscribers has partly been supplanted by using addressable advertising to underwrite the costs of providing increasing amounts of VoD content for free, they said. Analysts and executives expect targeted ads, and especially the Canoe venture of six operators, to be a focus of the NCTA show Wednesday through Friday in Washington.
SeaChange said its IPTV products are being used for Indian pay-TV subscribers of Bharat Sanchar and Mahanagar Telephone. Those companies will use the cable vendor’s products to let customers pause live TV, get “integrated” e-mail and watch on-demand video and broadcast TV, SeaChange said Monday. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.
SeaChange said its IPTV products are being used for Indian pay-TV subscribers of Bharat Sanchar and Mahanagar Telephone. Those companies will use the cable vendor’s products to let customers pause live TV, get “integrated” e-mail and watch on-demand video and broadcast TV, SeaChange said Monday. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.
Google’s admitted practice of overcharging AdWords customers on a daily, but not monthly, basis will carry a $20 million price tag if approved by a federal judge. The company settled a proposed class-action lawsuit brought by CLRB Hanson Industries in U.S. District Court, San Jose, Calif., without admitting it was wrong to do. Google charged some advertisers up to 20 percent more than their daily budgets called for, to make up for days where their daily limits weren’t reached, but stayed within their monthly budget limits. Judge James Ware twice refused to dismiss the 2005 case, saying the daily overages were inherently injurious, but narrowed the class to advertisers whose ad campaigns lasted less than a month, ended mid-month, or “paused” their campaigns (WID Dec 19 p6).
SeaChange International and TiVo will solicit tier 2 cable operators in offering video-on-demand through CableCARD-equipped DVRs, a SeaChange official said. Those service providers are the target because larger ones have “fairly mature” plans for tru2way, a SeaChange official said. The service -- billed as a way for MSOs to increase VoD revenue without waiting for tru2way deployment -- uses TiVo electronic program guide to search for VoD content, company officials said. Video will continue to be transmitted using QAM multiplex, but the broadband connection will be used as a return path to set-up streaming and to pause, rewind and fast-forward programing, company officials said. TiVo also signed an agreement with Alticast to graft its DVR software onto Alticast’s middleware platform that’s used in cable set- top boxes and Blu-ray players. Alticast counts Broadcom and Intel among its customers for Blu-ray, and its technology has been used in Samsung, Best Buy’s Insignia and Vizio players, a company spokesman said. Alticast’s tru2way customers include Humax, Kaon, LG Electronics, Pace and Samsung. Alticast’s electronics program guide and DVR software are used in South Korea and the U.S.
Tough Obama administration restrictions on lobbying by senior level appointees before and after they leave government service probably won’t create major difficulties for the next FCC chairman in hiring staff to fill senior positions from outside the agency, industry officials said Thursday. But it could cause some to pause before taking a job with the government. The restrictions also apply to NTIA and other government agencies that oversee communications policy.
Sling Media said it released the beta version of its Slingplayer Mobile software for some Research In Motion smartphones, including the BlackBerry Bold, the Curve and the Pearl. The software was previewed by an executive at Macworld (WID Jan 8 p8). The application allows customers to view their home TV via mobile phones and other Internet-connected devices. BlackBerry smartphone users can also control their DVRs to play recorded programs as well as pause, rewind and fast-forward live TV, or program new recordings.
Sling Media said it released the beta version of its Slingplayer Mobile software for some Research In Motion smartphones, including the BlackBerry Bold, the Curve and the Pearl. The application allows customers to view their home TV via mobile phones and other Internet-connected devices. BlackBerry smartphone users can also control their DVRs to play recorded programs as well as pause, rewind and fast- forward live TV, or program new recordings.