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Future of Interactive Television Advertising

According to Informitv, at the third Interactive Television Advertising Show in London, Nick Milligan, the managing director of Sky Media, said that television is under threat and the 30 second advertising spot is under more pressure than ever before.

�I have experienced more change in our medium in the last four years than in the previous 25,� he said. �Who would have thought it extraordinary 10 years ago that we would have to defend the medium of television? Clearly it is the most powerful advertising medium.� All the main commercial broadcasters in the UK came together last year in an unprecedented way to create 'Thinkbox', an industry body to market and promote television advertising.

�It is critical that we find ways of enhancing the old interruptive model and interactive advertising is a wonderful way of enhancing advertising efficiency,� declared the man responsible for advertising, sponsorship and interactive advertising across a portfolio of channels on the Sky platform. �We are not interested in cornering the market in interactive advertising, no matter what people may have thought in the past about Sky�s ambitions. I genuinely welcome competition.�

Sky, which has been delivering interactive television adverts for over five years, is now looking to extend its range of interactive services. It currently limits its interactive spots to the last in break and says a large proportion of that inventory is sold. Sky needs to find new models if it is to grow the interactive advertising business.

Sky is looking to broadband and mobile to provide additional video advertising opportunities. The Sky by broadband service, which offers movies and sports clips for download over broadband at no cost to top tier subscribers, has now been equipped to serve adverts. The Sky by mobile service now has over 100,000 subscribers and has streamed over 12 million sessions in a matter of months since it launched.

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