The EBIF Footprint

Canoe marked an important commercial milestone last week with the launch of the first interactive TV ads in Comcast and Time Warner Cable markets. Although details are scarce, we do know that the potential footprint for these ads is pretty wide. As of last month, the public tally of EBIF set-tops from Motorola in Comcast systems alone was at 20 million.

So what kinds of interactive ads will users see on their EBIF set-tops? Early ads will focus on requests for more information, with Multichannel News reporting that there are plans for a campaign offering a free sample of chewing gum to respondents. Meanwhile, the EBIF spec got an update earlier this year ensuring other types of interactivity will start appearing in cable homes in the future including TV widgets, time-shifted applications, and addressability. It will be interesting to watch what pops up on the EBIF roadmap for the second half of 2010.

http://www.multichannel.com/article/454208-Canoe_Launches_Clickable_30_Second_Ads_With_Comcast_TWC.php