Comcast Delivers More Than 2.7 Billion Interactive TV Ad Impressions

Comcast Spotlight, the cable operator's ad division, has executed more than 1,000 interactive ad campaigns -- with more than 2.7 billion impressions to date total -- on behalf of clients including Nike and NBC.

The ITV ad units are available to approximately 15 million households in 50 markets, according to Comcast Spotlight. The company is not disclosing the response rate but "we've been very pleased so far and think interaction rates will continue to grow as people become more familiar with the technology," spokesman Chris Ellis said.

Comcast Spotlight sells three interactive TV products: request for information, to let viewers order info, coupons or product samples; remind-record, to prompt viewers to set a DVR recording for an upcoming show; and VOD telescoping, which links viewers from an ad to an on-demand program or lets them "bookmark" it for later viewing.

Advertisers that have run ITV campaigns with Comcast include: Nike, which used VOD telescoping to promote the debut of The Black Mamba, a six-minute short film starring Kobe Bryant; and NBC's The Voice, for which the operator delivered more than eight million impressions across multiple platforms and generated more than 84,000 interactions with ITV-enabled advertisements. Other ITV customers have included Rockford International Airport and Meg Whitman's campaign for governor.

"When you combine cable's unique ability to assemble fragmented audiences with the ability to engage directly with those viewers, the result is an unmatched advertising platform," Comcast Spotlight corporate senior vice president and general manager Hank Oster said in a statement.

Comcast Spotlight, based in New York, sells ads in almost 90 markets with approximately 30 million owned and represented subscribers.