• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, May 12, 2009

Hardees has signed a deal to bring Indoor Direct's TheBite -- a place-based digital video network serving "quick serve" and "fast-casual" restaurants -- to 324 Hardee's locations around the country.

The network will allow advertisers to target the chain's core clientele of young men ages 18-34, with ads interspersed through TheBite's 60-minute program of news, entertainment, music and sports, updated weekly.

TheBite, launched in April 2008 with content repurposed from CBS Outernet, delivers content to a network of 42-inch LCD screens in hundreds of restaurants, including high-traffic locations in 14 national restaurant chains, such as Denny's, Wendy's and Sizzler. There are typically two to four of these 42-inch screens, as well as a promotional screen at the point-of-purchase.

According to Indoor Direct, research from Arbitron shows that 42% of Americans 18 and up had visited one of the quick-service restaurants in the network -- with 85% noticing the network's screens during its soft launch. What's more, 65% could remember one of the brands advertised on the screens.

Indoor Direct plans to expand to over 1,000 locations, giving theBITE a presence in all of the top 25 DMAs. It recently secured $22.5 million of venture funding to complete this rollout. When the expansion is complete, Indoor Direct says it will reach over 10 million viewers a month in top DMAs.