This summer Fox will begin testing technology that can update or swap
ads that people see when they watch shows on demand, the network's
President of Sales Toby Byrne told buyers today. The goal is to have
the service ready for next year. "A consumer can watch Fox on any
device wherever they are, and your ad can be there too," he said at
the network's upfront presentation at New York's Beacon Theater. It
was part of a joint presentation with Fox Broadcasting Chairman Kevin
Reilly to underscore the company's eagerness to work with new
technology to help build ratings. "We will be No. 1 again next
season," Reilly vowed. The execs said that – unlike their broadcast
and cable competitors — the network offers buyers "scale, youth, and
influence." Technology helps, they said: The network benefits from DVR
time shifting, as well as streaming and VOD even though many of those
viewers still aren't fully included in Nielsen's ratings. They added
that Fox shows are especially popular with people on social networks
including Facebook ad Twitter. "We dominate in the social space,"
Reilly said. "It indicates a certain level of engagement and that has
value." The execs said that Fox has the youngest audience of the Big
Four networks, and beat ad-supported cable networks which collectively
offered 1,050 shows last year with only 4 in top 50. "None can deliver
consistency, scale and breadth…the way Fox does," Byrne says.
