DirecTV Tees Up 'TV Everywhere' Ads With FreeWheel

Operator plans to launch video ad insertion for mobile, Web platforms toward end of 2013

By Todd Spangler, Multichannel News -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/31/2013 9:32:29 AM

As the TV Everywhere saga slowly builds momentum, DirecTV is now looking at the next chapter: how to maximize ad revenue from multiplatform video content.

The satellite operator plans to launch a digital video ad-insertion solution, developed with FreeWheel, toward the end of 2013. DirecTV also has taken an equity ownership stake in FreeWheel; terms of the investment were not disclosed.

With the FreeWheel-based system, DirecTV will be able to let programming partners and advertisers deliver ads for mobile and Web platforms. The operator itself also will sell ads for TVE content. At some point, the system could deliver targeted ads based on demographic data, according to the companies.

Consumer awareness of TV Everywhere is still low today -- a survey last fall by GfK found that just 22% of pay TV customers had heard of the term -- and content is sometimes spotty.

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