• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, August 19, 2013

Looking for TV viewers with a net worth of $1 million or an annual individual income of $200,000? Rich people still watch TV, I hear. But on really, really big TV screens -- like the size of your floor-to-ceiling living room wall.

Companies that market financial hedge funds are now allowed to advertise on TV, targeting wealthy individuals -- especially men. Think financial news channels like CNBC and Fox Business, sports networks like ESPN, as well as news channels , and network evening news broadcasts.

This might not be the biggest boon for TV networks looking for new advertisers to force up TV program prices. But new categories are always welcomed – and not just financial advertisers. Some are predicting the Affordable Care Act will spur new and old health care insurance companies to start doing heavy TV advertising -- up to $1 billion worth. Some years ago, the more relaxed regulations concerning consumer pharmaceutical TV ads brought the promise of some $500 million in new advertising -- which wasn’t fully realized, according to some analysts.

New programmatic systems -- by way of Visible World -- for TV could be another way to get new advertisers to enter the TV world, especially those direct-response marketers more familiar with automated systems via the Internet.

This was the promise of Google TV Ads --an online marketplace to buy, sell and measure national cable TV advertising -- way back when.  It had a roster of cable TV networks, including fringe NBCUniversal cable channels, Hallmark Channel, Bloomberg TV, and others. The thinking was that it could bring new Internet-savvy marketers to the TV table. Problem was, it couldn’t get cautious TV networks to commit inventory at a specific price level. Google shuttered the unit last year.

It’s hard to find new TV niches. But with the growth of digital video, some new marketers may come out of the woodwork, landing first on digital platforms and perhaps moving to traditional TV.

Better still, some of those targeted customers may not all be making $200,000 plus.