• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, December 10, 2019

Xandr, AT&T’s ad-tech unit, is going beyond static “pause ad” formats to sell a full-motion (no sound) video format.

Moreover, the AT&T advertising platform is running the new ad format on linear broadcast and cable TV networks, Xandr told Variety.

Up to now, pause ads — ads that appear on screen when a consumer uses a remote to pause viewing — have been largely limited to Hulu’s use of static images, shown only to users of its ad-supported version. Hulu has placed such ads for advertisers including Procter & Gamble and Coca-Cola.

Xandr’s video ad format launches 30 seconds after a service’s subscriber pauses the action.

Xandr CEO Brian Lesser said the format is not only non-interruptive — an attribute that advertisers have come to value due to on demand-accustomed consumers’ hatred of traditional ad breaks in programming — but also 100%-viewable and brand-safe.

Lesser said the format is being actively sold, has been enthusiastically received in the marketplace, and has already appeared on DirecTV and other AT&T video platforms.

He declined to name advertisers using the format, saying that more information is likely to be offered during CES in January.