Erick,

I see your point and agree that the same audience used to watching video online may even come to expect the same services through television.

The problem is, although web video viewership continues to increase, it’s still a relatively small portion of the TV viewing population and therefore it’s a hard sell to convince a cable operator, networks, etc. that it’s a worthwhile investment vs. other initiatives on the table.

Still, here’s what might happen to make it a reality:

- A great web video ad services comes to the world. People love it so much that they come to expect all online video to have these ads

- Online video viewing continues to increase and the demographic is of high value

- TV world notices and says…”So many people want this! Let’s invest in bringing it to TV!”

- They invest, we get web video type ads on TV. It’s an opt-in service that it tested to customers with an existing high speed internet service from their provider

Depending on how it goes, the service stays around or fails and someone 10 years from now is reminding people about it in a blog post

Thanks,
Jaafer
http://digitalu.wordpress.com
http://www.sensidea.com

This company is morphing quickly and positioning itself very well. You may be hearing struggling times for companies like Spot Runner - but the entire media advertising world is hurting right now. Economy is down, stupid companies cut their advertising as the first sense of expense reduction, when it should be darn near the last…….I wouldn’t count these guys out just yet!

ADMIN
http://freeindiantv4ever.com

The debate started around the cancellation of Jericho and the issue of big TV networks not really doing enough to make their online audiences count in the greater scheme of things, especially in light of the fact that the shorter ads shown online don’t really allow you to move away from the screen without risking missing something while, with those on television, you can walk the friggin’ dog, cook lunch and be back in time for the next scene.

Okay, I’m exaggerating but you get the gist. Anyway, thanks for the article, it’s definitely an interesting read.

Overlay ads suck for the viewer. Constantly having the flow of your show being interrupted by what amounts to pop-up ads sounds like the thing that would finally get me to turn of my TV for good. I mean, those little station bugs are bad enough, and when they’re animated it’s downright infuriating.

What that ad unit is, I don’t know. It doesn’t have to be a text link. It can be a graphic overlay. Audiences are getting used to these things and won’t necessarily think they are intrusive if they are relevant.

As to Steve’s point @36, I didn’t mean to imply that behavioral targeting couldn’t be part of the mix. (I actually ran out of time and had to post because I had some execs waiting to show me a product demo, so I couldn’t cover everything).

But how exactly would you do behavioral targeting on TV without tracking every show somebody watches? That raises way too many privacy concerns (although nobody seems to mind when it happens on the Web). At least with contextual ads you are targeting only based on the content within the video itself.

I fully agree on point #1: automating the process. But I disagree on point #2; pop-ups and overlays… They don’t work in any medium (unless placed passively and activated manually by the user).

The future of TV is all about the silent shift away from generic broadcasts in favor of the Video On Demand model combined with new platforms that automate the process of delivering highly targeted ads.

http://www.jeffhock.com/blog/o.....-boom.html

The benefit of this, as I see it, is that your TV experience is largely uninterrupted.

I’d much rather be sent a coupon to be reviewed later, than stop the show I’m watching and buy an item right there.

I picture a scenario where, for instance, you are watching Random Primetime Drama Show and a character walks on screen wearing an advertiser’s brand of clothing. A little clothing icon appears in the corner. You press a button on your remote, the picture size of the show shrinks a little bit and accommodates a simple text link of sorts saying “5% Instant Rebate of BrandX Women’s Sweaters, only at Macy’s” and you have the opportunity to cancel and go back, or click a different button and have a coupon emailed or texted to you.

Ads are relevent and realtime, but don’t distract from the show. Advertisers would be sacrificing raw views, but the quality of actual interactions I believe would skyrocket.

I think these, coupled with traditional commercial breaks (although maybe having 2 45-second commercials and a 15-second commercial instead of 4 30-second commercials) would be a boon.

Fact is I’m in the minority and so are the rest of us. To make a wide but probably accurate generalisation, TechCrunch readers are not the type who flop down in front of the TV and gaze goggle-eyed at whatever happens to be on for hours on end. I only watch scheduled programming if there’s something I actively want to watch at a suitable time, which on average is less than an hour a night, and I’m guessing many TechCrunch readers are the same. People who don’t particularly care about what they’re watching are more likely to accept intrusive ads, and I have a nasty feeling they make up the majority. And what’s more, they’re probably the people who are actually influenced by TV ads as well. Those of us who switch off in disgust aren’t actually generating revenue for the TV stations anyway.

Entrepreneurs and others should do well to remember the history of interactive television before trying their hand at it. I’ve spent years working with cable, telcos, and media companies and I’m a student and life long web fanatic. I’ve been pitched many times about interactive TV and ads and spent a while doing due diligence on a concept myself.

Here’s some advice and some history:

A Little History

Interactive TV was invented in the 90s through a joint venture by SGI, Time Warner, and AT&T (read The New New Thing by Michael Lewis). It was a great technology feat at the time but failed miserably not even making it to market…why?…because no one wanted it.

TV is not about “Clicks”

Most people come home from work, turn on their TV, and turn off their brains. The web is a very different medium than a TV in terms of interaction. When people are online they get their info or entertainment in bits and pieces, the go from site to site quickly to get their fill. They read a bit on one site, do a search, and read more somewhere else.

This is drastically different user behavior than when watching TV. Sure, people click around to find something they want but when they find it they stay and watch. Their intent is to stay not need to be constantly engaged interactively.

What’s the Business Case?

To date, most network investment is in making the content flow downstream faster, crisper, farther, better. To make interactive ads viable at scale, investment needs to be made for upstream data flow. True, the internet can hookup to the back of your TV or set top but that will come at a bandwidth cost incurred and passed on to the consumer. Will people pay for more bandwidth so that they can interact with ads on TV? I’m thinking they’re most likely to stick with their “internet high speed lite” or god help us dial up services to browse the web at a reasonable rate.

Having worked extensively with cable and telcos I’d be hard pressed to see the execs sign off on a project that requires heavy investment, lots of work, no proven need or customer demand.

Companies Already in the Game

A few companies are already in the TV interactive ad game. Ensequence has a compelling solution, and there was a startup that allowed you to buy items seen on Desperate Housewives simply by clicking on the items on TV. A catalog would open up on screen and you could place your order…pretty cool stuff but I can’t remember their name (AgentBuddy?), maybe a clue to their success

Bottom Line

The bottom line is that the web is different than TV but one thing is always true: People will use a service if it makes things better and more enjoyable.

There are some great web services that could be brought to TV. How about being able to search and retrieve all comedies targetted to ages 25-35 instead of clicking through 300 channels? That would make my TV experience easier and better.

Just like on the web, make things easier, better, and faster. Interactive TV has been in play for 10 years and still doesn’t fit the bill.

Erick - I find your posts some of the most informative and well thought out at TechCrunch. Would be great to continue the discussion with you Erick or anyone else interested.

All the best to everyone working on making their dreams come true. Don’t you just love technology

Thanks,
Jaafer Haidar
http://digitalu.wordpress.com

In primetime, I think the overlays will mostly be for the typical advertiser already willing to pay for the 30 second spot. But a.) I could be wrong, and b.) even if I’m write, there’s a lot of day parts other than primetime, and a lot of opportunity on channels besides the major broadcast networks. I’m warming up to Erick’s thinking…