Ad Platform Coming to Mediaroom

A forthcoming update to Mediaroom, Microsoft’s technology platform for telephone providers to offer TV programming and other video over dedicated IP networks (IPTV), will give service providers tools for audience targeting and tracking. The Mediaroom Advertising Platform could reduce the need to use traditional TV audience measurement firms like Nielsen in markets served by Mediaroom, but Mediaroom today has a tiny installed base compared with traditional cable and over-the-air TV systems.

Better Targeting and Tracking

Advertising generates significant revenue for cable TV providers. In the quarter ended June 30, for instance, leading U.S. cable provider Comcast took in about US$400 million—4.5% of its total revenue—from advertising. However, revenue from advertising was down 2% from a year ago, reflecting an industrywide shift toward online advertising, which lets advertisers track the behavior of individual users (e.g., Web site visits and specific search queries) and target advertisements to those users based on this data.