• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, October 22, 2010

It's unlike a network to pass on a chance to promote high-profile programming. Yet until now, they've failed to take advantage of the blank space that appears next to some ads on their HD feeds.

Earlier this month, Turner's TBS began using the real estate to back Conan O'Brien's new show. In the process, TBS has apparently become the first network to do more than paste its logo there.

Most prominently during the baseball playoffs, TBS has inserted C-O-N-A-N in the bars that appear on both sides of the screen, while an ad airs between them. Also known as "pillars" or "curtains," TBS used them to promote the Nov. 8 premiere of the "Conan" show and include a TBS logo.

Before the latest gambit, TBS ran its logo in the vertical bars on its TBS HD. The "Conan curtains" have appeared in non-baseball programming. But last week's American League Championship Series provided a highly rated opportunity to reach potential "Conan" viewers with the newfangled promotions.

Still, the promo bars are somewhat uncommon. The majority of spots on TBS -- at least during baseball -- are produced in high-def. The sidebars can only be colonized when an ad is produced in standard def. So when it runs on an HD channel, it doesn't fill the screen and leaves the sides open.

A slight paradox has emerged. With 56% of Americans receiving HD programming, the chance for networks to maximize the "pillars" seems ripe. Yet with the number of HD ads continuing to grow, the window may be closing before it ever really opened.

"I don't know why it's taken so long," said former Optimedia executive Larry Novenstern. He cited networks looking to "monetize (inventory) every way they can" to offset content costs.

Longtime industry researcher Steve Sternberg said he was not surprised that Turner has opened the "curtains," so to speak. "It's very innovative, it's very smart -- of course they should do it ... it's like a Fox or Turner to do something like that," he said.

For the most part, networks leave the "pillars" blank, although TBS and TNT have inserted their logos, as has ESPN. But NBC Universal, CBS, MTV Networks, the Fox cable channels, the Discovery networks and Rainbow's AMC leave the space untouched.

With its Food Network and HGTV, Scripps converts standard-def ads so they fill the screen on the HD feeds -- a tactic other channels may have also adopted.

Some advertisers may not be thrilled if a promotion brackets their messages, although a TBS rep said he had not received any negative feedback.

TargetCast TCM booked a spot in a possible seventh game of the ALCS that was produced in standard def, and a candidate for a "Conan" adjacency. Gary Carr, a senior vice president at the agency, said he had some concern about attention diversion. "We want to make sure nothing blocks our ads -- there's enough clutter as there is," he said.

Novenstern, a consultant at the Leverage Agency, said "good creative will cut through anything that's on the sidebars." And maybe those "pillars" can help. He cited ESPN's "bottom line" and CNBC's stock ticker running during ads as increasing engagement.