• by Wayne Friedman , May 10, 2010

Getting closer to better targeting viewers for TV advertisers, the cable industry -- with Canoe Ventures leading the charge -- announced a new industry-wide interactive advertising/programming initiative, SelecTV. 

With SelecTV, an on-screen icon alerts viewers to interactive programming or advertising capabilities. The industry promises a seamless interaction between viewer, cable company, programmer and advertiser across all major U.S. cable systems.

The announcement was made at the opening of The Cable Show in Los Angeles on Monday, with Canoe Ventures, the cable industry advertising effort, managing the SelecTV project. Steve Burke, chief operating officer of Comcast Corp., stated: "Our industry's growing ITV capabilities enable content providers to engage with consumers in ways that are meaningful to them. With SelecTV, we are introducing a brand that reflects the value of what we deliver."

SelecTV is backed by the major cable industry associations, as well as large multiple system operators, including Bright House Networks, Cablevision Systems Corporation, Charter Communications, Comcast Corporation, Cox Communications and Time Warner Cable. National advertising and cable television are also programming partners.

Canoe is readying an introductory request for information service as part of SelecTV within the next two months. One unnamed cable network is allowing subscribers to request coupons, product samples or information to be sent in the mail.

Vicki Lins, chief marketing officer of Canoe Ventures, added: "We're driving standardization of technologies to help scale a truly national ITV platform."

Sean Cunningham, CEO/president of the Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau, considers it a positive development. "Being brand stewards themselves, advertisers and agencies are gratified by the news that with the introduction of SelecTV, there will be one uniform branded identity that will signal interactivity and draw attention to advanced advertising applications on TV."

In addition, at The Cable Show, Canoe is demonstrating dynamic insertion of different video advertising into video-on-demand content.