The power of network owners to bundle channels together — to force pay-TV operators as well as subscribers to buy programming as a package — is at the heart of the current TV ecosystem. If it’s being lost today, it’s not because people are cutting the ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Brands will soon have a new way to connect with audiences during commercial breaks, by inserting messages into Twitter streams while their ads show on TV. SecondScreen Networks’ SyncTweet product can automatically send tweets during commercial breaks with the hashtag of the show viewers are watching. Read more »
Criterion Capital Partners is announcing Wednesday that it has bought SeeSaw.com, a site that aspired to become U.K.’s Hulu but was close to being shut down just six weeks ago. SeeSaw’s past is troubled, but Criterion is nonetheless willing to make a bet on its future. Read more »
Shazam has become one of the more popular mobile apps for figuring out what song it is you’re listening to, but it sees a huge opportunity to be part of the broader TV advertising ecosystem. And it’s raised $32 million in venture capital to do so. Read more »
TV ads will increasingly become performance-based, moving the industry beyond just trying to amass huge audiences, according to execs from media agency Initiative. That could change the way that brands and agencies think about media buying, and could be disruptive to Nielsen’s ratings system. Read more »
The folks over at GoRumors have unearthed an interesting patent application filed by Xerox that describes a pretty radical approach to TV advertising: The “Apparatus and method for embedding commercials” would make it possible to add behavioral targeted advertising to TV programming by letting your TV […] Read more »
