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MediaBiz Morning Bridge (January 25, 2008) - If there's one thing smaller cable operators like, it's the new revenues from advanced services such as video-on-demand (VOD) and applications like local ad insertion.
A developer of ad insertion equipment scored a key deal this week.
AdGorilla, an advertising equipment manufacturer and turn-key cable ad sales company headed by industry veteran Dan Ryan, said it added Bresnan Communications to its expanding list of ad server equipment customers. Bresnan has agreed to purchase seven Rev/Gen ad server units from AdGorillaq, AdGorilla's equipment manufacturing division.
AdGorilla said it will soon introduce its digital programming insertion solution. According to Ryan, AdGorilla's DPI solution will match its analog equipment's unique value proposition and will be positioned to serve the needs of operators that are considering switching their headend equipment to an all-digital platform.
August 1, 2007 - If there's one thing smaller cable operators like, it's the new revenues from advanced services such as video-on-demand (VOD) and applications like local ad insertion.
Vendors such as C-COR Corp. (Nasdaq: CCBL - message board) and the Comcast Media Center (CMC) have created special pre-integrated systems to address adding VOD to small MSOs. And now AdGorilla has stepped in with a system that gives small- and mid-sized operators an opportunity to get a piece of the local ad pie without breaking the bank.
For small operators looking to get into that game, "the biggest barrier has been cost," says AdGorilla CEO and Founder Dan Ryan. "When you get down to about 5,000 subscribers, spending $60,000 or more for ad insertion gear just doesn't make any sense."
Ryan, an 18-year cable vet, knows a thing or two about the special economic challenges faced by smaller operators. Most recently he founded Precis Communications, a provider of cable services to small communities in Utah, Arizona, and Nevada. He also served in the Rocky Mountain Group of Charter Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: CHTR - message board), handling a region with 260,000 customers in 12 states. He ended up with Charter in 1999 after the MSO purchased Rifkin & Associates, a mid-sized operator.
AdGorilla, which is hawking its "RevGen" wares this week at The Independent Show in Monterey, Calif., entered the analog ad insertion market in March, starting with a four-channel, entry level system that runs about $5,500. The modular design allows operators to expand to as many as 12 channels per box.
AdGorilla has set up two models depending on how much an operator can handle on its own. An operator can buy the equipment and sell the ads, or have AdGorilla's AdPro division handle the ad sales, download the spots, and schedule them into the local avails. Of the 100 or so [AdGorillaq] installed so far, roughly half are full turn-key customers, Ryan says.
Ryan admits that the first question operators tend to ask is whether AdGorilla's system actually works and is also reliable at such a low price point. "Hell, yes, it works," is his response. "It has to be reliable and also easy to install." Several operators are taking those claims to task.
To date, the largest system to deploy AdGorilla's system serves about 20,000 subs, with others serving fewer than 1,000. Some of its customers include Buford Media; Willamette Broadband of Woodburn, Ore.; and Semo Communications Corp. , a provider that operates in parts of Southeast Missouri.
"Any additional revenue is always a good thing," says Ben Hooks, CEO of Buford, which serves primarily markets with fewer than 500 subs. Its largest property serves about 8,000 customers. "We've always been somewhat limited [on ad sales] because headend equipment tends to be too expensive."
AdGorilla's "reasonable" pricing has allowed Buford to offer local ads on about eight channels in its system in Greenbrier, Ark. "It's installed now and going after the ad revenue source. We expect to do more of it as we go forward," Hooks says.
In addition to drawing local ad revenue, operators can also tap the system to insert ads that talk up new cable services and promotions, complementing direct mail, radio, and other tactics.
"The marketing opportunities are equally as compelling," Ryan says.
Although AdGorilla's initial strategy targets small- and mid-sized MSOs, "there's no reason why any system couldn't use this," Ryan says. "We can serve any system size; it really doesn't matter."
Beyond mid-sized operators, AdGorilla should expect to face stiff competition from market-leading suppliers such as C-COR and SeaChange International Inc. (Nasdaq: SEAC - message board), which don't relinquish market share easily.
Ryan also realizes that cable's future is digital, and that future extends to ad insertion. Operators can use the analog system as an inexpensive "placeholder" as they transition to digital, he claims. AdGorilla, a company with 13 employees, expects to rollout an all-digital ad insertion platform in September.
Ryan says he has already started some integration discussions with the people behind Beyond Broadband Technology LLC (BBT) , an operator-led venture that is developing a downloadable conditional access system and an "open" digital set-top platform. Buford Media is one of BBT's backers. (See Small Cablers Plan Sub-$100 Set-Tops and BBT Exits Alpha.)
- Jeff Baumgartner, Site Editor, Cable Digital NewsJuly 3, 2007 - For those looking for a solution, there's a technology.
With this issue of The BRIDGE, the editors list their favorite technologies, the solutions everyone should watch closely and the gadgets that are stirring up the multiplatform beehive. The companies and their contraptions listed in the publication are attempting address certain needs among all user groups . for better or worse.
For starters, there are the notorious devices. Slingbox has gained attention for its delivery of home-based video content to consumers on the move, but has run into trouble with Major League Baseball for giving users access to out-of-market games.
And there are plenty of successes, such as Cedar Point with its VoIP platform and ICTV with its interactive offerings.
On the consumer side, there's the Sat-Go mobile product from DIRECTV and the emergence of AppleTV. And on the industry side there's high-tech advertising solutions and much-needed help with bandwidth management.
The technology action begins on the next page...
Watch This Space: Ad Solutions for a High-Tech Cable World
The advertising space and how to gauge its performance is becoming more complicated each day. That has the cable business thinking about the next steps it needs to take to fulfill an advertiser's requirements.
For starters, small MSOs are looking for a quick and cheap solution to get ads in front of customers. And to address the demand, [AdGorilla] earlier this year took the wraps off its [AdGorillaq] division to deliver ad-insertion equipment to medium and small cable operators.
Cable pioneer Dan Ryan founded [AdGorilla], which is based in suburban Denver. The company's RevGen division is building ad-insertion equipment starting as low as $5,500 per system, which compares favorably to some systems that can cost as much as $100,000. The system takes up less than a foot of rack space, and that's ideal for a small headend.
"There are still many cable systems across the country bypassing their local ad insertion avails, thus missing out on ad insertion revenues and system marketing promotions," says Ryan. "[AdGorillaq] will focus on developing custom fit, low-priced, reliable hardware and software solutions for commercial advertising insertion equipment that will allow more systems to capitalize on the many benefits of local ad insertion."
The Comcast Media Center also is lending a helping hand to MSOs with its advertising distribution network.
The "ADN" is an internet-based technology that delivers advertising content directly to a headend. The service allows for a more timely distribution of advertising content. It also provides reports on spot previewing and usage tracking for programmers and MSOs.
"The ADN gives tremendous advantages to cable systems, especially when it comes to dropping ads in (to channels or shows) that are much more topical," says Gary Traver, COO of Comcast Media Center. "It's a much more convenient advertising mechanism."
The center started testing the ad network last summer. Traver says the ADN will make a strong push in the third quarter...
-Michael Hopkins, excerpt from The Best in Tech: When There's a Need, There's a Solution from The BRIDGE (July 3, 2007 Edition)June 21, 2007 - The quickly changing nature of advertising has caught up with cable operators. And that's requiring the MSO business to think about the next steps it needs to take to fulfill an advertiser's requirements.
For starters, small MSOs are looking for a quick and cheap solution to get ads in front of their customers. And to address the demand, [AdGorilla] earlier this year took the wraps off its [AdGorillaq] division to deliver ad-insertion equipment to medium and small cable operators.
Cable veteran Dan Ryan founded [AdGorilla], which is based in the Denver suburbs. The company's RevGen division is building ad-insertion equipment starting as low as $5,500 per system, which compares favorably to some systems that can cost as much as $100,000. The system takes up less than a foot of rack space, which the company says is ideal for a small headend.
"There are still many cable systems across the country bypassing their local ad insertion avails, thus missing out on ad insertion revenues and system marketing promotions," said Ryan. "[AdGorillaq] will focus on developing custom fit, low-priced, reliable hardware and software solutions for commercial advertising insertion equipment that will allow more systems to capitalize on the many benefits of local ad insertion."
The Comcast Media Center also is lending a helping hand to MSOs with its advertising distribution network.
The "ADN" is an internet-based technology that delivers advertising content directly to a headend. The service allows for a more timely distribution of advertising content. It also provides reports on spot previewing and usage tracking for programmers and MSOs.
"The ADN gives tremendous advantages to cable systems, especially when it comes to dropping ads in (to channels or shows) that are much more topical," said Gary Traver, COO of the Comcast Media Center. "It's a much more convenient advertising mechanism."
The center started testing the ad network last summer. Traver says the ADN will make a strong push in the third quarter.
- The Morning BRIDGE (June 21, 2007 edition), Media Business Corp (MBC)June 19, 2007 - For those small- and medium-size operators looking to add digital ad insertion capability to their checklist, [AdGorilla] has a solution.
In March, [AdGorilla] added [AdGorillaq] as its newest division, offering an ad insertion solution that requires minimal initial capital and headend space. The RevGen, now deployed in more than 100 systems, starts as low as $6,000 and takes up less than 12 inches of rack space.
The most commonly purchased system, the RevGen 12, inserts on up to 12 channels and starts at $12,000. Other than the initial cost, the first year is fee-free, but after that a $2,400-a-year service agreement is offered.
If the pre-wiring is handled by the operator, and the system is sent directly to them, it could be up and running within about three days, with no test time required. If the operator preferred to have [AdGorilla] install the system, it would be a little less than two weeks before launch.
The system also attracts larger cable operators because of its expandable, modular solution that allows hardware and software to be added to or upgraded when requested, as opposed to having to replace the entire system.
And the company's digital ad insertion suite is slated for Q4, in preparation for the digital conversion. "Operators moving to digital are looking at this system as a bridge," says Dan Ryan, [AdGorilla] CEO.
Currently, the RevGen is utilized by Charter Communication's Chatham, N.Y., system and four of Buford Media Group's systems.
-Traci Patterson, Web/News Editor - CED, Editor - xOD CapsuleDENVER, Colo. (March 2, 2007) - [AdGorilla], cable trendsetter Dan Ryan's company, introduces [AdGorillaq] as its newest division. [AdGorillaq] provides a new advertising insertion solution for cable systems. Brian Stuart, former President of Ad Systems, Inc., has been named President of the new division.
With over 25 years leadership experience in engineering and implementing technology advances for both consumer products and cable operators, Stuart directs [AdGorillaq’s] technology strategy, with a focus on developing custom fit, low-priced, reliable hardware and software solutions for commercial advertising insertion equipment.
“We are really looking forward to Brian’s direction for our growing advertising insertion business,” said [AdGorilla] CEO Dan Ryan. “There are still many cable systems across the country bypassing their local ad insertion avails, thus missing out on ad insertion revenues and system marketing promotions. The RevGen equipment price point will allow more systems to capitalize on the many benefits of local ad insertion.”
In the past, smaller cable systems have struggled to find advertising insertion solutions that require minimal initial capital and headend space. [AdGorillaq] has solved both of these problems by building systems beginning as low as $6,000 per system at manageable sizes (a four-channel system needing less than one vertical foot of rack space).
RevGen also attracts larger cable systems because of its focus on building expandable, modular solutions that allow a cable system’s hardware to expand along with its customer base. Hardware and software can be added to or upgraded during a period of growth, rather than replacing an entire system.
“RevGen understands that every cable system has different advertising insertion needs and restraints. Our systems are fully customizable and are built on an individual basis to meet the exact needs of our customers,” says Stuart.
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