Monitor or flat-screen TV?
Lines have begun to blur

INVISION, an ad sales/inventory management vendor for cable networks, launched a cross-platform ad management tool for TV and internet advertising.

DealMaker enables marketers to create ad proposals, oversee inventory and maximize revenue across dormant ad space. It can be used to manage either broadcast or online advertising, or both.

The service represents INVISION's interest in ploughing deeper into online and cross-platform operations. Among established networks, the product has apparently shined: TV/digital network NBC Universal recently extended its license for DealMaker through 2010.

To manage DealMaker and future digital projects, INVISION created a Digital Products department and made Michael Stoeckel Vice President.

Stoeckel was formerly VP of ad innovations and operations at News Corp.'s Fox Interactive Media. Before joining Fox in 2005, he worked at Time Warner for 10 years.

"No one is better positioned to help clients integrate TV and online ad buying than Michael Stoeckel," praised CEO Christine Watkins of INVISION.

Watkins also said INVISION aspires to become "the leading provider of advertising sales solutions among websites" by fusing the best of "linear television with video-on-demand, website banners, broadband video and other interactive inventory."

The company reportedly manages over $10 billion in TV inventory for broadcast and cable networks annually. It drew $30 million in Series A funding last March.