Ads coming to Foxtel EPG

In Foxtel news, Seven’s full digital SD signal is expected to be available to all cable viewers sometime next week, following the joint announcement with Seven last week.

HD Channels for Free to Air networks will be available to cable viewers on the east coast when the pay television network launches its own HD+ channels by the middle of the year. But viewers in Perth and Adelaide will have to await confirmation.

Additionally, all satellite viewers are expected to be waiting a little longer for both Seven SD and the HD channels.

Meanwhile, Foxtel will seek to add advertising real estate to its electronic program guide (EPG) later this year, according to The Australian.

It will create a new, advertiser-only space on its EPG that will house long-form entertainment content for brands.

Foxtel is also expected to follow moves in Britain to include more sponsored content with the programs a viewer records to his or her set-top box.

Foxtel chief executive Kim Williams said improvements to its interactive advertising products, including the use of the EPG, would be a focus in the second half of the year.

“We are looking at improving our interactive advertising product even further, particularly using the recordable memory,” he told The Australian recently. “Cars, consumer electronics and computers: these are where people want the opportunity to really explain (the product).”

More videos and trailers are expected to appear on Foxtel’s EPG in the new advertising section, which will be promoted on the company’s channels.

Source: The Australian, Patrick Delaney Blog