• by David Goetzl , February 22, 2010

Cablevision's Rainbow unit said it will soon give the Pillsbury Doughboy his own video-on-demand outlet. The branded channel for Pillsbury products will include some longer-form programming as well as other interactive TV features.

The VOD offering will be available in Cablevision digital-cable homes in the New York area -- a large subset of the MSO's 3 million-plus subscribers. It has been pitching advertisers on new iTV opportunities, including the chance to run lead-generation spots where a viewer can opt-in to receive a coupon in the mail.

Similar click-and-receive opportunities -- or request-for-information (RFI) -- are likely to be available on the Pillsbury channel.

Cablevision said the Pillsbury VOD application is part of a 2009 upfront deal involving its AMC and WeTV networks and General Mills.

Those two Rainbow networks can offer marketers iTV advertising in New York in packages along with national inventory. Zenith Media negotiated the deal for General Mills.

Outside package deals, Cablevision's dedicated local sales group has served RFI spots for a slew of marketers, including Gillette, Colgate-Palmolive and Benjamin Moore. Disney Vacations and the Navy currently have VOD channels running on Cablevision, while at least five other marketers have done so before.