Video-on-demand advertising has faced a significant hurdle because ad insertion platforms have been unable to swap ads in and out of the content in anything close to real time. Until now, most ads have been "baked in" with the content, making it impossible to change them separately from the content.

Now, however, Sunflower Broadband - which provides services to 30,000 homes in and around Lawrence, Kansas - is inserting ads, on the fly, for the Paramount Pictures movie Jackass: Number Two, into MTV's Comedy Central VOD programming. It is also able to swap the ads in and out within hours, according to MediaWeek (via MediaBuyerPlanner).

The system will view data and analyze the effectiveness of each ad. MTVN will be able to gauge viewership and adjust the ad message as the film is released and in the days after it hits theaters, writes Multichannel News.

The campaign is being handled by Mediaedge:cia.

"This is a real watershed moment for VOD advertising and what MTV Networks can offer its clients," says Carolyn Everson, SVP of ad sales strategy and biz dev, MTV Networks. "Sunflower's test allows for almost real-time ad insertion, and allows us to give our clients something they've wanted since the beginning - timely, highly targeted VOD advertising opportunities."

Comcast was the first operator to offer an active VOD ad-insertion program, and it is working on trials that will allow it to move content in and out in a matter of days.