24/12/2011

Get paid to watch TV ads – because you’re worth it | The Sunday Times

Get paid to watch TV ads – because you’re worth it Matthew Goodman Published: 25 December 2011

Playback will pay British viewers to watch adverts in order to improve targeting (Volkswa

Fed up with all the ads on television at Christmas? Now you can be paid to

www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/business/Tech_and_Media/article847155.ece

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24/12/2011

Get paid to watch TV ads – because you’re worth it | The Sunday Times

watch them. David Elstein, the veteran TV boss, is heading a new company that wants to give British viewers money to choose the types of ads they want to watch. He has become chairman of Playback Holdings, the brainchild of Alistair Kelman, a barrister who has developed the system so that advertisers can target customers. Playback’s service requires viewers to register various details on their settop boxes, including personal circumstances and buying habits. They would then have the option of watching commercials tailored to their lifestyle and interests — and would earn money for doing so, perhaps 1p per commercial. The system, which will go on trial in the new year, is likely to appeal to advertisers because it will allow them to target consumers who are more likely to buy the products or services they are promoting. Ads would be downloaded to the hard-drive of the set-top box. Advertisers would not have access to customer’s details; the device would simply select the appropriate commercials. Kelman hopes his system will help overcome the privacy issues that have held back the growth of personalised advertising on this side of the Atlantic. In America, the industry is worth more than $10 billion (£6.4 billion). Kelman is raising money to help develop the service and prepare it for launch, although it is not clear how much he hopes to attract. Elstein, who has invested a small amount in the company, said the concept struck him as “a very interesting proposition” with “enormous” potential. Until now, targeted advertising has revolved around efforts by broadcasters, especially in America, to create separate broadcast streams of the same programme, each with different commercials, in a bid to reach various categories of viewer. Elstein said the Playback system tackled this challenge by getting viewers to profile themselves. “It’s much more precise,” he said.

www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/business/Tech_and_Media/article847155.ece

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