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Post by Kev Mulrenan on Oct 1, 2008 11:31:23 GMT
Ye gods!
dogs and credit squeezing is bad enough!
ITV tests embedded ads in TV programmes
by Nikki Sandison, Brand Republic 01-Oct-08, 11:10
LONDON - ITV is trialling new overlay ad technology, which will allow ads to be embedded into blank space during TV programmes.
The technology, developed by Californian start-up Keystream, uses complex computer algorithms to find clear space such as sky or blank walls to display company logos or messages.
It is currently being tested during local news footage on ITV's website but if successful the broadcaster plans to transfer it to the television screen.
Advertisers taking part in the trial include the price comparison site USwitch.com and digital satellite service Freesat.
Simon Fell, head of future technology at ITV, told The Times: "There's a lot of potential. If there's a scene in a programme where there's time, then it could give us a chance to get an ad away.
"But obviously on television you won't be seeing one of these appearing at a crunch point in a drama."
It is not yet known how the new technology will fit within current broadcasting regulations or how Ofcom and the Advertising Standards Authority will react.
The embedded ads could help ITV to hit its advertising targets. Yesterday the broadcaster revealed that it would be cutting 1,000 jobs by early next year because of a severe downturn in advertising.
The unions have threatened to strike over the redundancies, which will hit the regional news division hardest with approximately 430 job losses.
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Post by Peter Elliott on Oct 1, 2008 11:40:06 GMT
Kevin... thanks for the heads up on this.
This is VERY BAD news. Hasn't British TV been dumbed down and ruined enough in recent years? As it is, I'm finding it increasingly unwatchable because I HATE being patronised and spoken to like an idiot, being told and reminded of what's on next, minutes before the program I'm watching ends and then again over the closing credits. All we have to do is press a button on our remotes to get that info - if we should require it.
So much for the wonders of technology. I'm amused by what it says about finding "clear space" in the picture in which to shove in ads. So, if it detects some sky, is it gonna generate a CGI plane to indulge in some skywriting? I know I'm being sarcastic there but I wouldn't put it past them either to resort to such a ludicrous idea.
I genuinely believe that Britain is becoming suffocated by Advertising. It went too far years ago but this just takes the biscuit.
I trust there will be an online petition against this potential practise very soon.
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Post by Greg H on Oct 1, 2008 11:43:08 GMT
I completely agree with you, modern TV has been dumbed down for the most part (a very large majoruty part in fact) to the point of being virtually unwatchable. I increasingly dont bother tuning in anymore, and I dont think this is going to entice me back into the folds as it were. There is too much advertising as it  |
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Post by Kev Mulrenan on Oct 1, 2008 12:03:53 GMT
Let's add those annoying banners that pop up and tell us what's next, plus the inane chattering of matey continuity announcers and their lame jokes to the list!
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Post by Deleted on Oct 1, 2008 13:02:41 GMT
I don't watch ITV per se any more anyway, so this goes over my head. I wouldn't watch ANY channel that uses such intrusive advertising though. If people voted with their remote and switched over though, this wouldn't happen. Back to the DVDs, I think...
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Post by Steve Riley on Oct 1, 2008 13:28:51 GMT
I can only agree wholeheartedly with what's been said above. I too watch very little TV these days, and the main reason for that is the massive oversaturation with ads. And that which I do watch (on ITV anyway) I always if possible record to watch later, so that I can then just FF through the adverts. I often wonder to what extent ads are actually counterproductive. I mean, I don't know anyone who likes them!! Most people find them annoying and intrusive, resent being force-fed them, and most ads are in any case, well .... just crap: The ones that are supposed to be "funny" simply aren't, too many have shouty voiceovers, others are patronising, and others simply get on your tits for one reason or another (such as the same ones being shown over and over in practially every commercial break). Every now and again (maybe once a year) an absolute gem appears - which invariably you then see just once or twice. So surely the logic follows that the more crappy / annoying ads you have, the more people will feel inclined to simply tune out - thus the less exposure your product will get, thus ultimately the less it will sell. That's how it should work, surely?  Steve |
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Post by Steve Riley on Oct 1, 2008 13:35:10 GMT
Yesterday the broadcaster revealed that it would be cutting 1,000 jobs by early next year because of a severe downturn in advertising. This I don't understand. How can there have been a "downturn in advertising" when over one quarter of every 60-minute slot is now taken up with ads (in the late '90s, a one-hour slot was still 49 - 50 minutes worth of programme, and only 10 minutes of ads). And that's not counting all the pop-ups and the "sponsored by ... " crap that you get on top of the regular ads. Am I missing something? Steve |
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Post by Peter Elliott on Oct 1, 2008 15:21:59 GMT
So surely the logic follows that the more crappy / annoying ads you have, the more people will feel inclined to simply tune out - thus the less exposure your product will get, thus ultimately the less it will sell. That's how it should work, surely? Steve Exactly. That's how my logic seems to conclude with this issue. The fact is, TV viewing figures are nowhere near as high as they used to be and I think recording and downloading has much to do with this. When you record or download, you can indeed skip the ads, so I see this as a way of forcing those of us who don't want ads to suffer them anyway during what it is we want to watch since there won't be any way to blot these pesky ads out. Whatever happened to the days when the BBC were so conscious of advertising to the point they would deliberately cover up words on packets of food? It always amuses me when I see archive shows and seeing Kellogs name replaced by a strip of paper! |
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Post by Andrew Doherty on Oct 1, 2008 19:31:47 GMT
So, if such a concept had been around, say, forty or fifty years ago, while fading to black there is an advert for toothpaste that 'crops up' before the next scene. When there is a moment of reflection in a scene, a used car loan company banner 'floats' into view. Possibly two characters are sitting in a waiting room and a trolley announcing a well-known brand of ice-cream is 'wheeled' on.
Is this the concept?
Ridiculous!
Yours,
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Post by William Martin on Oct 5, 2008 10:59:46 GMT
automatically placed overlay advertising is the name
California based company Keystream is to blame
apparently it can be seen being tested on the ITV Local website using logos from USwitch.com and Freesat.
if it can be blocked I don't care it it can't it will be very anoying
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Post by Peter Elliott on Oct 5, 2008 11:37:30 GMT
if it can be blocked I don't care it it can't it will be very anoying I get the horrible feeling this won't be blockable... just like we can't block mindless babble over the credits, pop ups on screen and of course the one we all love - squeezing the credits to the point of unintelligibility. Does one get the feeling this is gonna be used against us? For example, buy the DVD or download it from somewhere for a fee to see the show untouched by this nonsense? After all, they don't give a damn about anything other than making more profit, such is the sad state of affairs of today where we are being suffocated by advertising. |
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Post by Stuart Douglas on Oct 6, 2008 9:27:34 GMT
Ye gods! dogs and credit squeezing is bad enough! ITV tests embedded ads in TV programmes by Nikki Sandison, Brand Republic 01-Oct-08, 11:10 LONDON - ITV is trialling new overlay ad technology, which will allow ads to be embedded into blank space during TV programmes. I couldn't tell you when last I watched a show on ITV and from the sounds of things it'll be a long, long time until I see another... Cheers Stuart |
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Post by Steve Riley on Oct 6, 2008 10:49:41 GMT
After all, they don't give a damn about anything other than making more profit, such is the sad state of affairs of today where we are being suffocated by advertising. I honestly believe that for years now, advertising (and advertising revenue) have been the main concern of the suits and bean-counters who run commercial and satellite TV, and that the programmes are simply seen as an "annoying necessity" that serve as little more than vehicles for their precious ads. This is obvious from: (1) The dire quality of the vast majority of today's programming (2) The sheer number of commercial breaks (3) The apparent obsession with squeezing pretty much everything into neat 1-hour slots that start at the top of the hour, resulting in .. (4) Programmes often being butchered in order to make way for those all-important adverts (5) More and more programmes (even weather forecasts, FFS!!) being "sponsored by ..." Steve |
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Post by Peter Elliott on Oct 6, 2008 17:20:02 GMT
Very well put Steve. Couldn't had put it better myself!
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Post by Jeff Lewis on Oct 6, 2008 20:37:22 GMT
I blame advertisers for insisting that all programmes are aimed at the dreaded 16 to 30-year-olds with disposable income. I guessed things were bad at ITV a few years ago when they re-made 'Colditz' as a romance!
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