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Scale, Tech Can Stymie Addressable TV Ads

Thanks to deals such as the new Dish-Invidi pact, marketers may be able to send different TV ads to different households, via addressable ads, by 2011. It would mean that Pampers, for example, would no longer have to pay for ads watched by couples with no wee tykes.

But there is still the problem of scale. Setting up an addressable ad that can be seen by a majority of U.S. TV viewers remains nearly impossible because of the various cable, satellite and other intermediaries that control the devices that make the commercials work. Technological limitations are also a factor. Much of the inventory available comes from the scant two minutes an hour that cable and satellite-TV providers have under their control.

"If you need to use network and broadcast TV to accomplish the bulk of your objectives, this is nothing more than an experiment," says Brian Wieser, Magna executive. To top it off, detractors also point out that early tests have not strongly demonstrated that relevant commercials are enough to make most viewers stop channel-surfing.

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