ActiveVideo Unveils Ad Distribution System
ActiveVideo, the software company known for its cloud-based television interface technology, is taking a major step in a new direction with the launch of CloudTV AdCast, a multi-platform advertising distribution solution. (See ActiveVideo Tightens Its Cable Ties.)
The new system, developed with ActiveVideo Networks Inc. 's cloud technology, renders HTML5 ads as video streams that can be delivered to virtually any connected device. The adverts are interactive and combine video content with clickable features that allow users to explore branded material as different parts of the advert engage their interest.
In addition to the new software platform, ActiveVideo has also announced a new partnership with BrightLine, an interactive TV technology provider that already boasts numerous large consumer brands in its customer portfolio. Through the partnership, BrightLine is creating interactive ad campaigns in HTML5 with its In-Television solution, which ActiveVideo is then delivering to devices that range from Roku Inc. boxes to connected TVs and cable set-top boxes.
In a demonstration ahead of CES (Consumer Electronics Show), ActiveVideo showed an interactive L'Oreal ad running as a featured app on a Roku streamer. The company then showed the same ad delivered with the same interactive capabilities on a QAM-based set-top.
Interactive advertising has suffered numerous stops and starts in the pay-TV world during the past decade. Legacy set-tops have been part of the problem, along with the challenge of creating a unified delivery mechanism. As a result, while television is still the number one advertising medium for audience reach, it falls far short of the Internet in terms of interactivity and user engagement. (See Cable's Search for Advanced Advertising Treasure.)
That's the problem ActiveVideo now hopes to solve.
The ActiveVideo solution is available as a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model. Customers can build a single app, and then buy advertising campaign time to deliver that asset across any number of devices. ActiveVideo and BrightLine together also offer comprehensive metrics on campaign performance. Advertisers can measure not only what consumers do to interact with a single ad, but also how users get to the ad in the first place, and how performance compares across different hardware platforms.
Also included in AdCast are a network optimizer feature that "ensures low-latency, reliable ad delivery and bandwidth efficiency over unmanaged networks," and a security component enabling "firewall and sandboxing capabilities for third-party ad delivery."
ActiveVideo notes that AdCast can be hosted by a TV service provider, or by ActiveVideo itself in the company's fully virtualized cloud environment.
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— Mari Silbey, special to Light Reading