National Advertisers Will be Able to Reach Nearly One-Third of U.S. Pay-TV Households
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. & ENGLEWOOD, Colo. – -DIRECTV Group and DISH Network L.L.C., the leading digital television service providers in the United States, announced the launch of the Advanced Satellite Advertising Platform (ASAP), a new interactive advertising platform giving national television advertisers unprecedented reach to nearly 30 million U.S. households.
The acronym ASAP is both a play on advertisers’ current needs for a more efficient, nationally-scaled interactive television platform and the platform’s immediate ability to deliver this interactive opportunity to the marketplace.
Advertisers will benefit from a turn-key, one-stop-shop approach with respect to the process of creating, planning, buying and implementing a national interactive advertising campaign. ASAP’s core opportunity will offer advertisers the ability to showcase long-form advertorial content on an exclusive, dedicated channel coupled with interactive opportunities to further engage the consumer. These interactive opportunities include additional product information, photo galleries, simple gaming, regional locators and requests-for-information (RFIs). RFIs enable consumers at home to enter a sweepstakes or request a product sample, informational brochure or coupon directly from the television using their remote control.
“Separately, our satellite companies already bring advanced media functionality to every DMA in the country; together, we bring the scale, ease of use and analytics that we believe will power interactive TV into the mainstream among clients,” said Michael Finn, Vice President of Advertising Sales for DISH Network.
“Both DIRECTV and DISH Network have offered advertisers a proven and mature interactive platform that dates back to 2004,” said Bob Riordan, Senior Vice President of Advertising Sales for DIRECTV. “Our combined advanced television efforts will bring the marketplace unmatched expertise and an unrivaled nationally scaled experience.”
ASAP will be a fully measured advertising platform utilizing third-party research services. Advertisers will receive in-depth post report metrics upon the completion of a campaign.
About DISH Network
DISH Network L.L.C., a subsidiary of DISH Network Corporation (NASDAQ:DISH), provides more than 14.1 million satellite TV customers, as of Dec. 31, 2009, with the highest quality programming and technology at the best value, including the lowest all-digital price nationwide. Customers have access to hundreds of video and audio channels, the most HD channels, the most international channels, state-of-the-art interactive TV applications, and award-winning HD and DVR technology including 1080p Video on Demand and the ViP® 722 HD DVR, a CNET and PC Magazine “Editors’ Choice.” DISH Network Corporation is included in the Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) and is a Fortune 200 company. Visit www.dish.com, follow on Twitter, @dishnetwork (www.twitter.com/dishnetwork), or become a Fan on Facebook, www.facebook.com/dishnetwork.
About DIRECTV
DIRECTV (NASDAQ:DTV) is the world’s most popular video service delivering state-of-the-art technology, unmatched programming, the most comprehensive sports packages available and industry leading customer service to its more than 25 million customers in the U.S. and Latin America. In the U.S., DIRECTV offers its 18.56 million customers more than 130 HD channels and Dolby-Digital® 5.1 theater-quality sound (when available), access to exclusive sports programming such as NFL SUNDAY TICKET™, award winning technology like its DIRECTV® DVR Scheduler and higher customer satisfaction than the leading cable companies for nine years running. DIRECTV Latin America, through its subsidiaries and affiliated companies in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia, and other Latin American countries, leads the pay-TV category in technology, programming and service, delivering an unrivaled digital television experience to 6.5 million customers. DIRECTV sports and entertainment properties include three Regional Sports Networks (Northwest, Rocky Mountain and Pittsburgh) as well as a 65 percent interest in Game Show Network. For the most up-to-date information on DIRECTV, please call 1-800-DIRECTV or visit www.directv.com.
