Looking to drum up support for his bid to sell Canadian ads on US cable channels, MédiadeNovo’s Glenn O’Farrell dangled a carrot Wednesday – the technology to reduce lost ad revenue from non-simulcast airings of expensive US shows.
Under its plan, broadcasters would pay MédiadeNovo and BDUs a fee to use non-simultaneous substitution technology that stores and inserts ad content into digital streams.
‘If licensed, what we propose to do for the local avails solution, we will also develop solutions for non-simultaneous substitution,’ O’Farrell says.
Currently, scheduling conflicts force Canadian broadcasters to air a US show before or after its American airdate. In those cases, they lose the benefit of simultaneous substitution where American commercials are replaced with Canadian ads, which allows the broadcaster to monetize expensive program rights.
As a solution, MédiadeNovo will enable Canadian ad substitutions in American shows that air out of simulcast, creating additional ad revenue for broadcasters.
‘This would enable the rights holders to ensure the exclusive rights they own are being commercialized by their activity, as opposed to players who do not own the program rights,’ O’Farrell explains.
By revealing its digital ad-insertion technology now, O’Farrell also aims to draw public reaction from broadcasters who have so far been silent on whether they will back or oppose the MédiadeNovo bid to sell ad time on US cable channels’ local avails. The CRTC will hear the bid next month.
‘We hope it will attract [broadcasters’] attention and they will see the value in our offer,’ he says.
Nordicity recently calculated broadcasters annually lose around $97 million from non-simulcasts of US shows with original American ads.
MédiadeNovo’s proposed technology would allow broadcasters to upload and air commercials in non-simulcast American shows, and receive schedule logs and as-run reports.
The commercial insertion service uses technology and a control center provided by both MédiadeNovo and BDU head-ends.
From Playback Daily
