Rovi Launches TV Field Trial of Advertising Platform
Rovi launched Internet-connected TV field trials with Samsung LCD sets for an advertising platform its expects to expand across “multiple” CE brands, said Jeff Siegel, senior vice president of advertising. The test, which will include independent third-party consumer research, will run through late August and involve canvassing Internet TV owners to glean viewing habits and other data, Siegel said. Rovi expects to gain “tens of millions” of ad impressions during the trial which will involve TVs, Blu-ray players and other Internet-connected devices, he said.
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Rovi began this week serving ads, including for Carnival Cruise Lines, to Samsung Internet-capable TVs, including seven 51-, 59- and 64-inch LCD TVs that are part of the D8000, 7000 and 6500 series. It will test a variety of ad sizes, fonts and positions with a goal of starting research in May and pulling together a consumer panel by June, Siegel said. Ten advertisers are expected to participate in the trial, including Carnival, he said. Rovi didn’t disclose other advertisers, but it is working with the Brightline agency, whose clients include Burger King, Cisco, Jim Beam and Pepsico. Rovi also has a partnership with Carnival’s agency MPG. Entertainment companies and automotive manufacturers also are expected to be involved in the trial, Siegel said. The test is expected to expand to the U.K. and Canada in the second half. The field trials are based on the Rovi Advertising Network, which is available through “north of” 30 million U.S. cable and satellite homes, Siegel said. Rovi expects to reach 50 million homes by year-end, company officials have said.
"We are working with CE manufacturers to be their ad gateway so advertisers can come to us to place ads across multiple brands and interfaces,” Siegel said. “We are doing a lot of research around this to see how people are interacting with Smart TVs from a qualitative and quantitative perspective to make sure the ads are the right size. In order to make sure this is a legitimate platform you have to do independent third-party research and that’s a key component of the trial."
The research will be designed to allow advertisers to determine which portion of the Internet-connected consumers have a strong affiliation with a given brand, Rovi said. The banner ads also will enable consumers to click through to get additional brand information, including 30-second to two-minute videos, Siegel said. The ad platform will be key as Rovi seeks to increase annual advertising-related revenue to $35-$40 million this year from $15-$20 million in 2010 (CED March 11 p1), company officials said. Rovi landed 10 ad campaigns the first six weeks of this year, compared with four all of last year, company officials have said. In 2010, each campaign produced $300,000-$500,00 in revenue for the company, Chief Financial Officer James Budge has said. Rovi was paid 80 cents per 1,000 impressions on average for its ads in 2010, and the figure will rise to more than $1 this year, Budge has said.
Rovi also is weighing bringing the advertising network to various products of newly acquired Sonic Solutions, including its RoxioNow video streaming platform. “We are looking at their products to see how advertising fits into the whole company,” Siegel said. “Certainly advertising is a priority for us and we are going to look across our entire product base and see what makes sense. We have to see what’s reasonable and where we have rights.”