Skipping the ads? BlackArrow raises $14.75M to defy you

November 8, 2006 | Matt Marshall | Comments | |

(Updated with Web site URL)

blackarrow.gifSan Mateo start-up BlackArrow has raised $14.75 million to develop a way to insert advertisements in TV and Internet video programming, and it shows the ads even if people try to skip over ads with their DVRs.

It has been secret until now. But this is pretty serious cash for an unknown company. It is, after all, a pretty serious proposition.

killtivo.jpgHere’s how it works: Take ABC, a network that sells 30-second advertising spots. Roughly a quarter of US households have digital video recorders, and that percentage is growing — and they’re skipping the 30-second spots in greater numbers. Advertisers are now saying that’s uncool, and so ABC says, “Aha, but we can offer enhanced ads — those that are played during the pause, ffwd modes” in video-on-demand and DVR households. So after the original show airs on TV, ABC syndicates the show to their own video web site, potentially other websites. The 30-second TV spots are removed and replaced with a group of pre-roll, mid-roll, post-roll ads, as well as companion ads (those that occupy real-estate around the video window) that are shown in the various playback modes. BlackArrow handles the brokerage and placing process by providing these new forms of ad inventory.

The funding comes from Intel Capital (yes, there is a trend here lately), Mayfield and Polaris Venture Partners, as well as Comcast.

Next Story: Grouper’s ScreenBites gives you famous video/TV clips
Previous Story: UPDATE: Intel confirms investments in Socialtext, SpikeSource, Six Apart, Simplefeed, Newsgator & Topio

Bookmark and Share

Tags: , , , , ,

Photo of Matt Marshall

About the Author, Matt Marshall

Matt Marshall is editor and CEO of VentureBeat. Follow him on Twitter at @mmarshall, and follow VentureBeat on Twitter at @venturebeat.

  • Thanks, just updated.
  • annoyed
    what a fricken annoying company
  • I wonder when we are going to start seeing ads that are actually part of the content instead of breaking up the content. Things like a website where you can lookup the clothes the actors were wearing and buy them online. That seems like it would be more effective and much less annoying.
  • Yeah, good luck getting MythTV to check something like this into the trunk :)

    The sorry folks who pay for some inferior DVR will have to suffer with this crap - but not the smart folks who build their own and use MythTV.
  • Where did the 25% of US households have DVRs stat come from? The most aggressive number I've seen to-date is around 15%. Here are some more stats for you: http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=...
  • WhizzMan
    You'd be amazed how many people will put up with this if they get the DVR for free....
  • also
    People who use the free/open-source Media Portal (much like Myth, but for Windows instead of Linux) also are not concerned with this news. Let the chumps watch ads to pay for my free content.
  • Annoying, yes.

    But, remember... SOMEONE has to pay the bill...

    There is no restaurant serving a free lunch... at least none that you would WANT to eat at.
  • Bill
    And this is why I don't own a DVR. I KNEW that some fool would come along and try to force ads on me. Right now, I use that old standby the VCR and just fast forward through the ads (saving 17 mins of my life per hour of TV). Now they want to try to force me to watch ads? Naah, forget the DV-R.

    I pay enough for Cable TV as it is. Just allow me to ditch the channels I don't want to watch (about 90% actually), and allocate my money to higher quality shows on the channels I do watch.
  • Sabrewings
    Or, for those who are adventurous, build a seperate PC to handle a DVR's duties. Plenty of free programs that come with capture cards (or that you can get online) that won't accept this additional adds and you can fast forward like you used to.

    All the fun, no fuss.