• by Wayne Friedman , March 5, 2024

In an effort to give viewers fewer TV streaming commercials, ad-supported video-on-demand group Chicken Soup For The Soul Entertainment has signed a "multimillion dollar" upfront deal with ad-tech company Infillion.

Infillion -- which will purchase advertising inventory across the company’s three main platforms Redbox, Crackle, and Chicken Soup for The Soul --  enables viewers to see fewer commercials if they interact with a brand's connected games, quizzes, shoppable experiences, and other activities.

Crackle Connex, Chicken Soup for The Soul’s advertising division, will also sell the interactive ad inventory alongside Infillion.

The companies tout that interactive video ads' performance is twice as effective as ads without interactivity in driving brand consideration, according to research from Kantar.

Infillion’s TrueX “value exchange ad model” has worked with brands, including  Amazon, Microsoft, Bank of America, and T-Mobile, and works with more than 200 publishers, including A&E, Roku Audacy, and Fox.

Darren Olive, president of ad sales at Crackle Connex, said in a release: “By enabling the TrueX collapsible ad unit within our premium movies and TV shows across our networks, we allow the brand to be the star and provide a better viewing experience.”