Print Page 10/14/2009

DALLAS: Cable TV will have a new source of revenues in 2010 that could reach $130 million by the year’s end if the stars align. Revenues from advanced TV advertising will take off in the middle of next year, research firm Park Associates says. The category will grow on the strength of addressable advertising within video-on-demand and time-shifted viewing.

The addressable component is a function of Canoe Ventures, a joint project of Comcast, Cablevision, Time Warner Cable, Cox, Charter and Bright House Networks. Canoe reportedly abandoned a plan this summer to deliver addressable advertising within existing cable ad zones. The group is now planning to launch a request-for-information service sometime during this quarter, Multichannel News reports.

Heather Way of Park Associates said pay TV providers are zeroing in on interactive advertising “as a preemptive move to sustain ad revenues.” Park projects that by 2014, U.S. addressable, interactive TV advertising revenue will exceed $4 billion, accounting for nearly 12 percent of total cable, DBS, and telcoTV ad revenue.

The early implication for broadcasters depends on demand for their content via on-demand platforms. Other analysts see on-demand Internet delivery of TV content supplanting likewise delivery on traditional pay platforms, as evidenced by the growing popularity of Hulu.com. ABC, NBC, Fox, PBS and other TV networks offer TV shows on Hulu.com, which was the fourth most-visited site for video in August, according to ComScore.
-- Deborah D. McAdams

More on money:
October 6, 2009: “MediaVest Moves Millions from Broadcast to Hulu.com”
MediaVest said this week it cut its first large-scale, upfront deal based on targeted demographic mixes, moving “millions of broadcast dollars into the digital space.”

June 29, 2009: “Broadcasters Generate Half of Ad-Supported Online Video Revenues”
NBC, ABC, Fox and CBS, along with Hulu.com--co-owned by the first three, churned out 53 percent of the $448 million ad-supported online video market for 2008. The remaining revenues were generated by major sports leagues, traditional online portals, and direct services from other major channel groups and content owners.

May 28, 2009: “Video: Someone’s Got to Pay”
“In five years old guys like me will still call it ‘television,’ but it will come from anywhere, in many formats, via many distribution channels. Anything anywhere in increasing quality and quantity and decreasing costs. That’s the trend,” said Liberty Media Chairman John Malone.

April 14, 2009: “Broadcast TV Versus Online Shows”
Online video tracker OVGuide.com compared what people watch on broadcast TV versus network fare viewed on the Web. The overall result was logical--the so-called “reality” genre did better on TV, while scripted fare was preferred online. The gist is that reality loses its bite once the outcome is revealed.   Print Page