MarketWatch (via PaidContent: Targeted TV Advertising Catches Interest

Applying internet-like targeting to TV ads is becoming a more popular venture capital play. Cable vendors say they will provide addressable advertising sometime between 2006 and 2008. In one example, Grey Ventures hopes to capture "a little of that" $50 billion in overspending on relatively untargeted TV advertising with an investment in Visible World, a company that can parse out TV ads into many versions to be sent to different types of audiences.

Of course, Grey Venture's parent company, Grey Global, is one of the top agencies causing the overspending in television advertising in the first place.

Seven out of ten executives in database marketing surveyed by Forrester said they were interested in addressable TV. Soon it will surely be pointed out to Forrester that database marketing executives have about as much to do with TV advertising budgets as, say, the average online media buyer/planner. Or janitors. And apparently with good reason, as database executives reported being willing to spend an average of about a $600 CPM for the privilege.