Reuters reports that Time Warner Cable is in early discussions to create an auction system for advertising spots within video-on-demand channels, modeled after Google's AdSense system on the Internet, the company's CEO said.
The No. 2 U.S. cable operator is considering a plan which allows advertisers to bid online to target ads at viewers with specific viewing habits. For instance, car manufacturers or dealerships could bid to put their ads on the television screens of viewers who favor the Speed Channel. The move is another sign of how the TV industry is borrowing and improving upon some of the most lucrative practices of the Internet.
"We can start doing what Google does -- auctioning off spots," Time Warner Cable Chief Executive Glenn Britt told Reuters in an interview. "We have the ability, using our set tops and new software we're putting in, to begin targeting advertising," he said at the show sponsored by the National Cable and Telecommunications Association. "We're actively looking at this."
The No. 2 U.S. cable operator is considering a plan which allows advertisers to bid online to target ads at viewers with specific viewing habits. For instance, car manufacturers or dealerships could bid to put their ads on the television screens of viewers who favor the Speed Channel. The move is another sign of how the TV industry is borrowing and improving upon some of the most lucrative practices of the Internet.
"We can start doing what Google does -- auctioning off spots," Time Warner Cable Chief Executive Glenn Britt told Reuters in an interview. "We have the ability, using our set tops and new software we're putting in, to begin targeting advertising," he said at the show sponsored by the National Cable and Telecommunications Association. "We're actively looking at this."