BlackArrow, NDS Swap Out DVR Ads

Duo demo ability to insert targeted ad spots

By Todd Spangler -- Multichannel News -- Broadcasting & Cable, 9/8/2010 2:36:55 PM

BlackArrow this week will preview a DVR ad-substitution system with NDS, with the ability to dynamically insert targeted, local ads in live or on-demand video, at the IBC conference in Amsterdam.

The demo is the first public product showcase jointly presented by the two companies, following NDS's investment into BlackArrow this spring. Other BlackArrow backers include Comcast, Cisco Systems and Intel.

"The goal of addressable TV advertising is to deliver the best possible spot, regardless of how the viewer is accessing the programming," BlackArrow senior vice president of product management Chris Hock. "Our DVR ad-substitution demonstration illustrates how we can partner with best-of-breed providers like NDS to help cable system operators and content programmers leverage the potential of the DVR to create a viable and powerful platform for addressable advertising."

At the NDS booth, BlackArrow will show different scenarios demonstrating advertisements inserted locally on DVRs. The demo will use BlackArrow's Advanced Advertising System for managing advertising sales, targeting and decision making, and NDS Dynamic to target, deliver, insert and measure advertisements for both linear and on-demand DVR-based addressable advertising.

BlackArrow's initial product, for inserting ads dynamically into video-on-demand programs, is currently in trial deployments with Comcast (in its Jacksonville, Fla., system), Bresnan Communications and Fox Cable Networks.