Time Warner Cable has turned to BlackArrow in order to provision a system-wide rollout of dynamic ad insertion in video-on-demand content.
Monetizing dynamic ad insertion (DAI) opportunities in on-demand has been top of mind for cable operators over the last few years. In March, BlackArrow announced it was working with Rogers Communications on DAI in VOD, while Comcast has been active, as well.
Time Warner Cable’s DAI in on-demand launch is notable because it’s system-wide.
“The time is right to bring the benefits of cable on-demand advertising to the national marketplace,” said Joan Gillman, president of Time Warner Cable Media. “Our partnership with BlackArrow will lay the foundation for new on-demand business and advertising models, and ultimately we expect that this will extend across a broad spectrum of television distribution platforms and devices.”
Time Warner Cable didn’t respond by deadline this morning in regard to questions about the possible advertisers that will take part in the DAI in VOD deployment, or on whether there was a trial conducted previously with BlackArrow.
Leveraging the BlackArrow system with unnamed third-party solutions, Time Warner Cable intends to bring timely, relevant on-demand advertisements to an audience that will include some of the nation’s largest media markets in order to create a nationwide footprint of dynamic on-demand ads. In addition, Time Warner Cable will be able to use the BlackArrow technology to increase the availability of commercial inventory for local and regional sales efforts.
“Time Warner Cable has long been recognized as a leader in launching advanced advertising solutions across the pay-TV landscape,” said Dean Denhart, CEO of BlackArrow. “We’re proud to be their partner as they continue to drive the industry forward by optimizing the potential of this dynamic new ad environment.”
Time Warner Cable is the first cable system operator to use the recently announced BlackArrow Ad Router to redirect ad requests to third-party Ad Decision Servers for real-time decisioning and fulfillment.
Time Warner Cable is also using SCTE 130-based elements of the BlackArrow system to enable the collection of return path data that is needed to measure delivery and effectiveness.
In February, Canoe Ventures announced it was shutting down its interactive advertising platform in favor of focusing on video-on-demand and TV Everywhere dynamic ad insertion opportunities. Canoe Ventures, which is jointly owned by the nation’s six largest cable operators, previously said it expected to have DAI in VOD deployed this year.
Time Warner Cable also owns a stake in BlackArrow, and Gillman is a member of its board of directors. Other BlackArrow investors include Cisco, Comcast Ventures, Intel Capital, NDS and Motorola Mobility.
In February, BlackArrow was one of the participants in a CableLabs interop event for DAI in VOD.