Beachfront and Canoe Ventures said a group of TV networks have adopted Beachfront’s unified ad serving technology and Canoe’s Service Assurance, which inserts commercials across connected TV and traditional set-top box TV. The programmers employing the technology include Afro TV, It’s Real Good TV, Kabillion, ToonAVision and TV One, with Epix using it for in-house promos.
Nearly 2,300 campaigns ran in Q1 2017, with 75% from paid client ad campaigns and 25% from network TV promos — virtually all occurring mid-roll. The number of advertising impressions grew 21% to nearly 5 billion in Q1 for network TV programmers running video-on-demand platforms on traditional pay TV providers, Canoe Ventures says.
Canoe, the cable industry consortium aimed at developing interactive TV commercials through use of a set-top box, said Wednesday that it would shutter that part of its business and lay off 120 employees, closing its New York office in the process.
After three years, a $150 million investment and the efforts of a staff of 150 people, Canoe Ventures, the cable industry’s effort to grab a bigger piece of the $70 billion spent on TV advertising has been largely unsuccessful — and has now reached a critical crossroad, industry insiders say.
David Verklin, CEO of Canoe Ventures since its 2008 inception, is leaving the company when his contract expires at the end of the summer. COO Kathy Timko has been named interim CEO, although no search process is in motion. Canoe, owned by the six largest cable operators, offers a product that facilitates interactive advertising on national cable channels, and it says its footprint is 20 million-plus homes served by its owners, which include Comcast and Time Warner Cable.
