http://www.cableworld.com/cgi/cw/show_mag.cgi?pub=cw&mon=030705&file=coxsetsthe.htm
Cox Sets the Table for Delivery of True Hi-Def Local Ads
ESPN HD's mix of true HD and upconverted programming puts a crimp in Cox's plans to insert HD ads.
By Simon Applebaum
Someday, local insertion of high-definition commercials on hi-def TV channels will be a top priority for cable operators. That "someday" seems far away at first glance: The universe of HD homes needs to expand; the insertion of local hi-def ads has to become a technically simple process; and local advertisers must demand the option for it to rise on operators' to-do lists.
Cox, however, wants that particular gusher of local ad sales revenue to flow today, not someday. In June 2004, the pioneering MSO began offering local HD ad insertion, through ESPN HD, in its Providence, R.I., system, which has about 38,000 customers capable of receiving HD service.
Cox gets two minutes per hour on ESPN HD to sell and insert locally. Initially, ad time was offered to ESPN/ESPN 2 local clients at no extra charge.
ESPN HD's NFL Sunday Night Football is in true HD; it's the network's upconverted programming that threw a monkey wrench in Cox's plans to insert HD ads.
Actually, Cox is offering local HD ad insertion with an asterisk--like all pioneers, the MSO has faced some big obstacles.
Last September, three months after announcing its decision to insert local HD ads on ESPN HD, system management had to alter its plans to run ads in the true 1080i or 720p HD format. Although much of ESPN HD's content is in true HD, a considerable amount is upconverted, or upgraded, to cover most of the screen. ESPN HD's mix of true HD programming and upconverted standard-definition programming didn't sit well with Cox, which wants its true HD ads to run with true HD programming.
"Consumers of HD were looking at some events in all their HD glory, and others with irritating, stretched images," says Guy McCormick, tech operations VP at Cox Media, the company's ad sales unit. "With that in mind, we wanted to make the best of the situation, and help local advertisers who want to reach this upscale group of consumers with their big investment in HD."
Consequently, Cox went with standard-definition local ads on ESPN HD. Using SeaChange's video server and a multiplexer from BigBand Networks, Cox inserted the ads with a curtain at the top of the screen and one on each side.
ESPN acknowledges that the mix of true HD and upconverted content threw a wrench into Cox's initial plans.
However, Gary Perrelli, VP of affiliate ad sales and brand extension marketing for ESPN, says that Cox can use the delay to encourage more advertisers to produce true HD commercials while ESPN HD addresses the format inconsistency.
"Cox has risen to the top of the industry...in what they're doing," Perrelli says. "The big thing they're coming up against, besides what we're dealing with, is that a lot of advertisers are not shooting commercials in HD. They find it cost-prohibitive, and we have to do more to encourage production."
Local car dealers are taking the majority of ESPN HD inserts on Cox. Ford, General Motors and Toyota have been producing HD commercials for broadcast and cable networks for the last year or so, which will give local dealerships a head start when the time comes for Cox to insert true HD spots.
"We're encouraging the dealer associations in our area to get the content ready," McCormick says. "We're also discussing ways to educate advertisers in other product categories about how to use HD."
Perrelli believes local consumer electronics dealers will be next in line to produce ads in HD. "That will be out of their desire to sell more HD sets," he says.
There's been no problem with the insertion process itself, McCormick says. In fact, Cox now offers curtained, standard-def insertion on ESPN HD throughout Rhode Island. Another four or five Cox markets could be ready for insertion of local HD ads by the end of 2005. "That's a conservative guess," McCormick says.
Bright House Networks, in its flagship franchise in Orlando, Fla., is slated to be the second MSO to offer HD ad insertion, pending a deal with ESPN, which also is negotiating with Comcast. "We're at the tip of an iceberg," Perrelli says. "As advertisers get more comfortable with HD, they will produce their spots that way. The more HD subscribers, the more advertisers will gravitate."
Cox Sets the Table for Delivery of True Hi-Def Local Ads
ESPN HD's mix of true HD and upconverted programming puts a crimp in Cox's plans to insert HD ads.
By Simon Applebaum
Someday, local insertion of high-definition commercials on hi-def TV channels will be a top priority for cable operators. That "someday" seems far away at first glance: The universe of HD homes needs to expand; the insertion of local hi-def ads has to become a technically simple process; and local advertisers must demand the option for it to rise on operators' to-do lists.
Cox, however, wants that particular gusher of local ad sales revenue to flow today, not someday. In June 2004, the pioneering MSO began offering local HD ad insertion, through ESPN HD, in its Providence, R.I., system, which has about 38,000 customers capable of receiving HD service.
Cox gets two minutes per hour on ESPN HD to sell and insert locally. Initially, ad time was offered to ESPN/ESPN 2 local clients at no extra charge.
ESPN HD's NFL Sunday Night Football is in true HD; it's the network's upconverted programming that threw a monkey wrench in Cox's plans to insert HD ads.
Actually, Cox is offering local HD ad insertion with an asterisk--like all pioneers, the MSO has faced some big obstacles.
Last September, three months after announcing its decision to insert local HD ads on ESPN HD, system management had to alter its plans to run ads in the true 1080i or 720p HD format. Although much of ESPN HD's content is in true HD, a considerable amount is upconverted, or upgraded, to cover most of the screen. ESPN HD's mix of true HD programming and upconverted standard-definition programming didn't sit well with Cox, which wants its true HD ads to run with true HD programming.
"Consumers of HD were looking at some events in all their HD glory, and others with irritating, stretched images," says Guy McCormick, tech operations VP at Cox Media, the company's ad sales unit. "With that in mind, we wanted to make the best of the situation, and help local advertisers who want to reach this upscale group of consumers with their big investment in HD."
Consequently, Cox went with standard-definition local ads on ESPN HD. Using SeaChange's video server and a multiplexer from BigBand Networks, Cox inserted the ads with a curtain at the top of the screen and one on each side.
ESPN acknowledges that the mix of true HD and upconverted content threw a wrench into Cox's initial plans.
However, Gary Perrelli, VP of affiliate ad sales and brand extension marketing for ESPN, says that Cox can use the delay to encourage more advertisers to produce true HD commercials while ESPN HD addresses the format inconsistency.
"Cox has risen to the top of the industry...in what they're doing," Perrelli says. "The big thing they're coming up against, besides what we're dealing with, is that a lot of advertisers are not shooting commercials in HD. They find it cost-prohibitive, and we have to do more to encourage production."
Local car dealers are taking the majority of ESPN HD inserts on Cox. Ford, General Motors and Toyota have been producing HD commercials for broadcast and cable networks for the last year or so, which will give local dealerships a head start when the time comes for Cox to insert true HD spots.
"We're encouraging the dealer associations in our area to get the content ready," McCormick says. "We're also discussing ways to educate advertisers in other product categories about how to use HD."
Perrelli believes local consumer electronics dealers will be next in line to produce ads in HD. "That will be out of their desire to sell more HD sets," he says.
There's been no problem with the insertion process itself, McCormick says. In fact, Cox now offers curtained, standard-def insertion on ESPN HD throughout Rhode Island. Another four or five Cox markets could be ready for insertion of local HD ads by the end of 2005. "That's a conservative guess," McCormick says.
Bright House Networks, in its flagship franchise in Orlando, Fla., is slated to be the second MSO to offer HD ad insertion, pending a deal with ESPN, which also is negotiating with Comcast. "We're at the tip of an iceberg," Perrelli says. "As advertisers get more comfortable with HD, they will produce their spots that way. The more HD subscribers, the more advertisers will gravitate."
