Sky Media has agreed to offer advertisers the choice of interactive advertising options from both Sky Interactive and the Zip Television independent consortium. It follows Zip’s agreements with Channel Four, Five and IDS which represents UKTV and Flextech channels, leaving ITV still to sign up.
Robert Leach, Sky’s head of interactive services, welcomed the agreement: “Sky Media’s commitment to supporting the growth of iTV advertising means that we welcome the emergence of alternative service providers. We believe that increased choice will act as a stimulus to further strong growth and will encourage even more clients to enhance their campaigns with immersive interactive experiences.”
Donna Barradale of Zip said that they share with Sky the goal of demonstrating the effectiveness of interactive television and encouraging more advertisers to use the medium as part of their advertising mix.
Sky, which has run over 500 interactive campaigns, can only benefit from increased competition and awareness of interactive advertising on its platform. Sky is planning to launch its Skyview panel of 20,000 satellite television homes in the UK that will offer considerably more detailed measurement of usage, addressing a key concern of advertisers.