Now Available to YouTube Advertisers: Age, Sex and Location-Based Targeting

Google has added a demographics tab to YouTube Insight, its YouTube analytics tool. Advertisers and publishers may now review the age, gender and geographical location of video audiences. Clients may also view how a video stacks up against others in a specific locale. The demographic reporting feature follows the debut of Yahoo's Buzz Targeting, which enables clients […]

Posted: Friday, May 16th, 2008

Networks Mull Options for Squeezing Cash Out of Online TV

While online audiences grow for its shows, ad revenue has not kept pace, said Jeff Zucker in an interview with the Financial Times. Changes in ad sales and delivery are crucial to monetizing online streaming, Zucker said, and grow more necessary as traditional ratings decline. With the exception of the CW, networks now appear to take it […]

Posted: Tuesday, May 13th, 2008

Industry Buzz & Snippets: 5/13/08

Ad Networks and Analytics: Real estate search site Trulia has built its own ad network, which may be valuable for advertisers pursuing local ad opportunities. ABC has introduced the "advertising value index," which tracks how well commercials perform on a given platform. Agencies and Marketing Execs: Digital shop Enliven will merge with DG FastChannel, a production and asset management […]

Posted: Tuesday, May 13th, 2008

Performics: Ads Ignored On TV and Online

Half of DVR owners had watched shows online, but just four percent do so on a weekly basis, according to Performics. Google's DoubleClick Performics unit examined the commercial watching behavior of 500 viewers. 35 percent of DVR owners said they pay attention to ads seen on TV. But only nine percent said paid attention to ads online. […]

Posted: Friday, May 9th, 2008

Industry Buzz & Snippets: 5/8/08

Ad Networks and Analytics: DoubleClick introduced a widget calculating tool that tells advertisers how much weight their widgets are pulling among users. Agencies and Execs: DG FastChannel and Enliven Marketing Technologies Corp. plan to merge in a deal valued at $98 million. Havas Media acquired interactive firm archibald ingall stretton and will integrate it into the agency. Larry Gerbrandt left […]

Posted: Thursday, May 8th, 2008

Clearwire, Sprint Partner for WiMax Venture; Telecoms Tag Along

Clearwire and Sprint Nextel are combining wireless broadband units, reports The Associated Press. The duo will operate under the Clearwire label and focus on the development and implementation of WiMax high-speed internet technology. WiMax is faster than standard Wi-Fi. Clearwire and Sprint believe this liaison will expedite its mainstream availability. Sprint Nextel will own about 51 percent […]

Posted: Thursday, May 8th, 2008

ABC to Pump More Ads into Online Commercial Breaks

Starting this week, ABC will insert multiple commercials into ad breaks within shows streamed online. Each break typically serves one :15 or :30 commercial. Because the medium is new, the standard for streaming TV shows is one spot per break. Some sites, like Hulu, give users the option of watching a single two-minute trailer at the […]

Posted: Monday, May 5th, 2008

Industry Buzz & Snippets: 5/1/08

Ad Networks and Analytics: MediaBank released v2.0 of its analytics platform, adding widgets and other new formats into the system, and decreasing reliance on manual information entry. One True Media is adding Spot Mixer, a DIY video ad creation tool, to its arsenal. Google might relaunch MeasureMap, a blog analytics service it has quietly owned, as an add-on […]

Posted: Thursday, May 1st, 2008

Music Streaming Sites Owe King-Sized Royalties to ASCAP

US District judge William Conner has ruled that artists be paid royalties for songs streamed across online music services, reports The Associate Press. Payment scales were arranged for the The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). In particular, Yahoo, AOL and RealNetworks owe millions of dollars in back payments to ASCAP. Legacy royalties are […]

Posted: Thursday, May 1st, 2008

Time Warner to Shaft Cable Division

Time Warner, which owns an 84 percent stake in Time Warner Cable, has decided to separate it from other assets. "We just believe the two entities would be more valuable if separated rather than kept in the current structure," said CEO Jeffrey Bewkes. Time Warner's net income in Q1 was $771 million, down $3 percent from $1.2 […]

Posted: Thursday, May 1st, 2008

Streaming Ads Get High-Def Treatment — and are Likely Better for It

DoubleClick and Brightroll have incorporated high-definition (HD) video into streaming advertising, reports ClickZ. Since the debut of Adobe's high-definition video format, HD video spots have primarily been used in expanding banner ads. DoubleClick and Brightroll now offer units that begin in a normal video window, but which can then be expanded to full-screen, high-definition video. A number […]

Posted: Tuesday, April 29th, 2008

TheWB.com to Stream Ad-Supported 'Network Classics'

Warner Bros. has resurrected the dormant WB as an online destination for watching classic shows, reports The New York Times. Two years ago, the WB TV network was killed and replaced by The CW — which, like its predecessors, targets the teen market. TheWB.com shall feature ad-supported episodes of Friends, Smallville, Buffy the Vampire Slayer […]

Posted: Tuesday, April 29th, 2008

8.5MM Broadband Subscriptions Added in '07, Fewest Since '03

The 19 largest cable and telephone providers in the US — accounting for about 94 percent of the market — acquired over 8.5 million net additional high-speed internet subscribers in 2007, according to Leichtman Research Group, Inc. (LRG), MarketingCharts reports. Annual net broadband additions were down from a record 10.4 million in 2006 and 9.9 […]

Posted: Tuesday, April 29th, 2008

Sprint Brings Minisode Network to Mobile; Honda Foots the Bill

Sony is extending its Minisode Network to mobile devices. The Minisode Network breaks popular 60- or 30-minute shows down into five-minute clips. Sprint customers may access the shows through Sprint TV. The shows will appear with pre-roll ads from Honda, which also sponsored the Minisode Network on MySpace. Ads will educate users on the Honda Fit.

Posted: Monday, April 28th, 2008

Industry Buzz & Snippets: 4/24/08

Ad Networks and Analytics: Adap.tv launched OneSource, the first "universal" video ad platform for multi-site video publishers. Broadband Enterprises has signed on as the exclusive provider of video overlay ads to ScanScout. Behavioral targeting firm Phorm could run afoul of online security firms if they decide Phorm's cookies are adware. So far, no one has made that claim. Gorilla […]

Posted: Thursday, April 24th, 2008

Upfront Structure Doesn't Jive for Online Inventory

While online ad inventory is increasingly added to TV buys, upfront buyers are still not flocking to cut checks, reports Adweek. Large content producers and distributors, including Microsoft and AOL, hold upfront sessions just like TV networks. Those sellers add online inventory, often from repurposed or extended TV content, to their sales pitches. But buyers have not […]

Posted: Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008

NBCU, Omnicom Invite Advertisers to Help Create Online Series

NBC Universal and Omnicom Media Group Digital have partnered to create branded content for multi-platform distribution. The newly-formed NBC Universal Digital Studio will develop online programming with advertisers' input incorporated throughout the process — including aspects of script writing and casting. Brands like Acura, Microsoft, UPS and Intel signed on to work with the new creative unit. […]

Posted: Friday, April 18th, 2008

Industry Buzz & Snippets: 4/17/08

Ad Networks and Analytics: Tremor Media has launched Acudeo, a video ad delivery platform that gives publishers control over when and where ads appear in videos. Buddy Media announced the creation of a "social media ad network" open to select developers of Facebook and OpenSocial applictions. IAC is rolling out its HealthCentral ad network, using the site it […]

Posted: Thursday, April 17th, 2008

Industry Buzz & Snippets: 4/15/08

Ad Networks and Analytics: comScore said AOL's Platform-A was the top-ranked ad network in March, reaching nine out of 10 online users by combining myriad niche verticals. Ad targeting shop Visible World raised $25 million to expand operations. WidgeBucks is now the first widget network operator big enough to be counted by comScore. Agencies and Executives: Former Interpublic and MTV […]

Posted: Tuesday, April 15th, 2008

UK Internet Ad Spend Up 38%, to Overtake TV in '09

Online advertising in the UK grew from the smallest sector in 2003, to the third-largest in 2007, with more than £2.8 billion in expenditures — a 38 percent year-on-year increase — and a market share of 15.3 percent (up from 11.4 percent in '06), according to findings released this week, MarketingCharts writes. Online looks set […]

Posted: Monday, April 14th, 2008