Friday, July 07, 2006

Rentrak to Measure VOD Ads

MultiChannel News reports that in beta testing from Rentrak Corp. is a new video-on-demand measurement application that will deliver details about viewing durations and overall impressions delivered by TV advertisements embedded into on-demand viewing sessions. The “AdEssentials” product is aimed at providing more context around viewing behavior associated with the nascent on-demand advertising category, which poses challenges because viewers can usually fast-forward through commercials.

Senior VP Cathy Hetzel says the new tools also will divulge commercial views by time of day and will display ZIP-code level demographics. She sees some creativity emerging in the on-demand advertising space as sponsors figure out ways to integrate with the medium. One finding: placing 15-second “bumper” spots preceding on-demand programs seems to ward off fast-forwarding, presumably because viewers figure skipping the abbreviated messages isn’t worth the bother. Rentrak already tracks on-demand viewing metrics for cable programmers and MSOs including Comcast Corp., but the new product will focus on advertising instead of program viewing.

No comments:

Post a Comment