Ad Insertion Vendor Scores Patent, Customers

In another sign that dynamic ad insertion is finally taking off after years of false starts, a leading ad tech vendor has picked up a critical patent for the technology and padded its cable and telco client roster with two major US MSOs.

This Technology LLC , a Denver-based ad tech specialist, announced Tuesday that it has secured a key US patent for dynamic ad insertion (DAI) functionality. This Technology, which competes against Arris Group Inc. (Nasdaq: ARRS), BlackArrow Inc. and a number of other players in the hotly contested ad tech market, said the patent describes the method for identifying dynamic ad inventory and defining such crucial attributes as ad ownership, length and interactivity. (See TWC Taps BlackArrow for Multiscreen Ads.)

"Without the functionality described in the patent, MVPDs (multi-channel video programming distributors) and programmers would not be able to identify inventory ownership," the company said in a prepared statement. "This is a necessary step for MVPDs and programmers to be able to insert each of their dynamic ads into the same video stream. In other words, if inventory management can't be determined, full-scale DAI deployments are not possible."

An early player in the DAI and general ad tech space, This Technology has been seeking the government's approval of its patent application since 2007. It now has secured eight US patents for various aspects of its ad management and delivery technology for linear, on-demand and multiscreen video programming.

Want to learn more about where the cable industry is heading with ad insertion technology? Then check out our upcoming Targeting Ads in the On-Demand, Multiscreen World breakfast roundtable, which will be staged Tuesday, May 6, 2015, at the McCormick Convention Center in Chicago, just before the Cable Show opens. Look out for more details coming soon.

This Technology also announced today that it has signed up two more big US cable operators as customers for its ad solutions. The company -- which already counts Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK), Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), NBCUniversal LLC and ABC Inc. as clients -- said it has added two more of the five biggest MSOs.

But, due to the confidential nature of those deals, This Technology declined to name the two new cable customers. So, given that Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE: TWC) just expanded its DAI deal with BlackArrow, take your pick among Cox Communications Inc. , Charter Communications Inc. and Cablevision Systems Corp. (NYSE: CVC).

— Alan Breznick, Cable/Video Practice Leader, Light Reading