This Technology has introduced a free, open source interconnect software called SpotLink that it hopes will encourage more networks and operators to launch dynamic insertion services for VOD, IPTV, broadband video and network DVRs.
Dynamic ad insertion systems would allow ads to be quickly inserted into VOD and other content, much like the way ads are almost instantaneously inserted into web sites and search requests. These dynamic insertion systems could also allow operators and network to insert ads targeted to specific demographics.
While a number of vendors offer dynamic ad insertion products, the market has taken off much more slowly than many expected and the sluggish deployment of dynamic ad insertion capabilities has hurt the VOD ad market, which remains relatively small. One major problem with VOD ad campaigns is that most VOD ads must be inserted into the content weeks before it goes live and it is difficult to cycle in new ads.
To make it easier and less costly for operators and networks to begin doing dynamic ad insertion, SpotLink allows programming networks to use existing broadband ad servers with any MSO-installed campaign management system for the SCTE 130 dynamic ad insertion standard, eliminating previous integration challenges and the need to buy new software.
"It means anyone who decides to use this software can use an existing IAB [Interactive Advertising Bureau] backed complaint broadband ad service such as DoubleClick [to do dynamic ad insertion] without having to go to one of the normal campaign management vendors to purchase new software," notes Jeffrey Sherwin, CEO of This Technology in an interview.
The free software also "eliminates the cost and decision of buying new campaign management systems that had resulted in deployment delays" and in many cases, no deployments at all, he adds.
This Technology, which already supplies dynamic ad insertion software and solutions to tier one cable operators and major networks, is making both the SpotLink software and the code available for free under licenses. "Now that vendors, operators and networks, can download the software and the code for free and build it into their solutions for DAI, the market should innovate much faster," he noted.
By making it easier for more operators and networks to do dynamic ad insertion, This Technology is also hoping to create more potential customers for their core products, which include SpotBuilder and MetaMore, Sherwin explains.
In a statement, Yoav Schreiber, senior analyst, digital media infrastructure, at Current Analysis also noted that dynamic ad insertion systems will be important to "successfully monetizing on-demand video [and will be] the linchpin to enabling emerging video consumption models, such as TV Everywhere....Being able to re-use existing assets and leverage existing operations, instead of investing in new infrastructure and processes should help accelerate implementation of dynamic advertising insertion solutions."
