BlackArrow Leverages Dynamic Ad Insertion Technology to Support Upcoming Nielsen On-Demand Commercial Ratings (ODCR)

Existing DAI Capabilities Allow for Scalable Advertising Solution

The Cable Show 2014

NEW YORK – BlackArrow, a worldwide provider of TV advertising and data solutions, announced a turnkey, scalable solution for automating the workflows and operations required to implement Nielsen’s On-Demand Commercial Ratings (ODCR). Nielsen shared the successful completion of a technical test with Comcast in late 2013 and is currently working to bring ODCR to market by socializing the concept with various client constituencies.

“VOD has quickly become a key platform for TV audiences – especially for the viewing of primetime TV shows”

Working within the current linear television landscape, ODCR enables content owners, distributors and advertisers to better leverage advertising opportunities inherent in time-shifted content. Under the current linear television business model, program minutes that contain national commercials are averaged together and aggregated for up to 7 days of viewing. The majority of existing national advertising deals include up to 3 days of viewing contribution (also known as C3). Specifically, this technology allows for current commercial loads to be inserted into older episodes of the same program on-demand, extending the opportunity to monetize older content.

BlackArrow’s dynamic ad insertion technology allows for current commercials to be effectively managed and inserted into the appropriate, qualified programming. This technology, built on BlackArrow’s existing platform, provides a proven solution to support the scale required for a successful, national implementation if adopted by the industry.

“VOD has quickly become a key platform for TV audiences – especially for the viewing of primetime TV shows,” said Dean McCormick at BlackArrow. “BlackArrow’s support of Nielsen’s On Demand Commercial Ratings provides our customers another valuable solution in their efforts to build a sustainable on-demand TV business model for themselves and their affiliates.”

“At a time when consumers expect content to be available on multiple screens whenever they want it, Nielsen is developing solutions to help our clients further monetize their content and maximize the value of their business models,” said Brian Fuhrer, SVP, Nielsen. “BlackArrow works closely with many of our clients to extend the value of their content.”

Learn more about BlackArrow and their full suite of advertising and data products at BlackArrow’s booth, #2501, at the NCTA Cable Show, April 29-May 1.

About The BlackArrow Advanced Advertising System

The BlackArrow Advanced Advertising System helps service providers manage the technological complexities and business issues associated with advanced advertising. For pay-TV service providers, BlackArrow Central offers a central, open, standards-based platform for managing placement opportunities, business rules and ad policies, and for controlling real-time ad routing and return path data aggregation. BlackArrow Campaign enables ad sales and marketing organizations to define, manage and monetize multiplatform advertising campaigns. BlackArrow Audience enables pay-TV providers to aggregate disparate sources of customer information into a single view for enabling the delivery of relevant advertising to the appropriate audience. BlackArrow Linear manages the insertion of advertising and alternate content into live/linear video streams. BlackArrow Analytics provides ad sales organizations with verified on-demand ad impressions and reporting against programs, markets/zones, dayparts, and audiences. For content providers, the BlackArrow Affiliate offers advanced tools for managing avails, or placement opportunities, as well as ad policies, ad sales rights, and asset metadata.

About BlackArrow, Inc.

BlackArrow is a leading worldwide provider of advanced advertising technology for New TV platforms. Reaching nearly 32 million homes, BlackArrow’s advanced advertising software platform enables customers to increase revenues by delivering more timely and efficient sales and marketing messages, to extend TV business models and affiliate partnerships to new platforms, and to gain real-time reporting and measurement insights across multiple screens. BlackArrow is privately held, and backed by Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO), Comcast Ventures, Intel Capital (NASDAQ: INTC), Mayfield Fund, Motorola Mobility Ventures, Polaris Venture Partners and Time Warner Cable. The company has offices in New York City and San Jose, Calif. http://www.blackarrow.tv