Fox Networks Group has a new addressable advertising trial offering for targeting households that watch video-on-demand content using Comcast Cable’s set-top boxes, as well as in streaming content on Hulu. And while the 10 million households involved represent a small portion of overall cable TV addressability, combining that incremental reach with Fox’s linear properties tells “a holistic story,” says Noah Levine.
That narrative is about “advancing the conversation away from adults 18 to 49 to what is your actual target, what is your actual goal” as an advertiser, Fox’s SVP, Advertising Data & Technology Solutions, says in this interview with Beet.TV.
Fox unveiled the trial with Comcast during NYC TV Week. With on-demand programming and streaming, Fox’s addressable advertising can reach audiences that may not be watching linear, as Broadcasting & Cable reports.
“We have the ability to sell and activate data in the same exact ways that MVPD’s are out there selling addressable today,” Levine explains.
The link with Hulu is to reach viewers who use connected-TV devices like Apple TV and Roku but it also applies to Hulu’s mobile and desktop viewing experiences, according to Levine.
On its cable network properties, MVPD’s get two minutes per hour of ad inventory to sell. Fox gets to monetize all of the remaining ad minutes.
“What we’re doing is packaging up that inventory to allow advertisers and agencies to take their first-party data, any combination of third-party data, and be able to match that against the MVPDs’ sense of identity through a safe haven,” says Levine.
Both Fox and Comcast use FreeWheel to handle ad insertions.
Fox has been offering addressable ads via its Fox AIM solution to reach its linear TV audiences. By adding in Comcast, “It’s now a cross-platform solution. We can provide the best worlds to an advertiser,” says Levine.
The Comcast and Hulu endeavors are the latest steps in Fox’s desire to “bring the future of TV advertising to market today.” It’s already rolled out six-second ads in linear-delivered programming and sponsored streams in VOD.
Reducing waste is one of the goals. “A lot of people argue that, ‘hey there really is no waste.’ There actually is waste and the waste is wasting the audience’s time,” Levine says.
“We as the media seller take on the responsibility to provide a better end user experience by having the option to cut down the ad load and be able to ensure that they’re the most relevant ads that are going to drive the highest ROI for the buyers.”
This video is part of a series of Beet.TV’s coverage of the Advanced Advertising conference held during NYC TV Week. Beet.TV’s coverage is presented by 4C Insights. Please find additional videos on this page.
