Cable Companies Betting On Personalized Commercials

from the it's-a-step dept

It looks like cable companies are beginning to recognize that the existing TV commercial format is dying out and are hoping to move to much more personalized TV ads. Of course, what's likely to happen is that the first attempt at this is going to go badly -- just like the first attempts at personalized web ads. They won't be particularly relevant. They'll just be annoying. However, one part of the article suggests that the cable companies really are recognizing that ads are content, and if done well, people will search them out. They're hoping to eventually offer video on demand for commercials -- knowing that the best and most entertaining commercials will get people to seek them out, rather than fast forward through them. This is a very different way of thinking, and it's nice to see that at least a few in the industry are recognizing the shift.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  1. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 21 Feb 2005 @ 5:38pm

    No Subject Given

    actually this is part of the pitch/marketing battle which erupt at stations every few years when the ad-booking software gets renewed. you're looking at ideas which none of the vendors can actually implement yet; sorry to pop the bubble

    link to this | view in thread ]

  2. icon
    Mike (profile), 21 Feb 2005 @ 6:14pm

    Re: No Subject Given

    Yeah, I wasn't saying that it was ready now... but, it's clear that this is what they're thinking about doing... which is a step forward.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  3. identicon
    thecaptain, 22 Feb 2005 @ 4:59am

    No Subject Given

    Frankly, while I find the idea of personalized ads interesting (more so than the bombardement of ads we get now) it scares the HELL out of me when in the hands of the MORONS in charge of this stuff now.

    While we COULD see, LESS ads, tasteful and effective, that's NOT what we'll see. These people have never heard of limits and what I expect to see is more ads, annoying ads.

    Why annoying? Think about this: These people will never limit themselves to the kind of info they gather, because they feel they have a right...and they'll never question their interpretations either. Imagine having company over and flipping on your Tivo and being flodded with ads for viagra or penis enlargement creams because you dared to rent that porn for a special weekend with your SO? Or maybe it's the ads for the latest gay dating site (only you're not gay, if you are, imagine getting flodded with ads for the nearest female strip joint).

    These ads would not only give away private info about you and your interests (which granted, is not a big deal for MOST people) but I guarantee they'll MISINTERPRET the info they have as well.

    Personalized ads is a GREAT idea as long as ANYONE but a marketer controls them.

    link to this | view in thread ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.