Cablers Ready For Interactive Advertising

The country's two leading cable operators are deploying the EBIF technology that propels interactive advertising at a rapid clip.

Comcast has 14 million-plus homes where set-top boxes have the technology installed, while Time Warner Cable had EBIF teed up in approximately 5 million set-top boxes at the end of 2010. The deployments are significant as both operators look to sell interactive advertising themselves in the local markets they serve, while Canoe Ventures uses both companies' infrastructures for its operations. Comcast said all of its 14 million homes are available for Canoe to use, while TWC did not immediately provide information. Canoe continues to stitch together a footprint across as much of the country as it can to allow cable networks to stream interactive advertising into homes served by multiple cable operators. A Canoe representative said ads can currently run in 18 million homes, indicating that Comcast and TWC provide the vast majority of the reach. Comcast and TWC are among the six operators that jointly own Canoe. And Canoe is counting on all six to offer EBIF-enabled boxes to serve ads on its platform.