Time Warner Cable is considering an auction system for purchasing commercial spots on video-on-demand channels, Reuters reported.
Modeled after Google's AdSense system on the Internet, the scheme would allow advertisers to bid online to target ads at viewers with specific viewing habits. For example, car manufacturers or dealerships could bid to put their ads on the television screens of viewers who prefer the Speed Channel.
The idea is in the early stages of discussion, said Glenn Britt, CEO of Time Warner Cable, the nation's second largest cable operator.
Britt said Time Warner Cable would be able to create such an advertising system because it had detailed usage data on some of its customers. It would adhere to privacy laws and not identify individual users to advertisers, he said.
Video-on-demand advertising is still a fledgling concept and it is not immediately clear what kind of demand Time Warner would be able to tap into.
