Microsoft Files for DVR Patent
According to DailyTech, Microsoft filed a patent for DVR advertising technology. The US Patent Office filing shows that Microsoft is creating technology where ads are not permanently embedded into a TV show, but uses a DVR ad-server instead. Ads can be turned on or off, depending on when a TV show is being watched. For example, new ads can be inserted into shows that may have been recorded weeks ago.
If this works, it can be great news for advertisers who can better target ad campaigns to the growing number of DVR owners.
From the DailyTech article:
Using a DVR-based advertisement database, a time-sensitive database is kept of all current ads being served on network TV. When a user watches a particular program, the Microsoft ad server will lookup relevant and appropriate ads from the network that produced the program and serve ads. If a show is recorded and watched repeatedly over time, different ads will be served. This method helps advertisers target and produce ads appropriately.
Still, this doesn’t address the problem of ad-skipping. Most DVR owners watch recorded shows and skip ads. Having targeted ads looks good from a technology point of view, but most users hate ads. Can this technology ever help users actually watch and like these ads?
December 19th, 2006 at 1:35 pm
so, this thing that swaps out the ad with a fresh ad on recorded shows sounds like a brilliant idea. even as a viewer, i hate watching old commercials - it’s confusing since i almost never watch live tv anymore. and even though i skip ads, i always end up watching a bit of the first and last ads anyway. however, as someone who works in ad sales, i agree that the real problem that needs to be addressed is the ad skipping. who cares if commercials are fresh, if they are being skipped anyway?