Maven serves up on
the food network

Internet TV platform creator Maven Networks wants the pre-roll format to die a slow death.

Maven dedicates time to making the user experience a pleasant one and believes pre-roll is simply too intrusive: That at best, it is a leftover from TV's :30 second spots that fails to realize the comparatively short length of typical online videos.

Maven instead relies on strategically-placed overlays. Its automated system can insert an ad at the :45 mark on a 2 minute video if users tend to leave that video early. And for a :30 video, it may not insert an ad at all.

Maven also set up the Internet TV Advertising Forum for industry leaders in online video. Invitees include Fox News, Scripps Network, Ogilvy, Digitas, CanWest, TV Guide, 4Kids TV, Atlas, DoubleClick, and 24/7 Real Media, according to ClickZ.

The forum will publish the results of a research project at the end of the year, identifying and testing new video ad formats.