Virgin Media is set to launch an addressable advertising service in the second quarter of 2012, ahead of rival Sky.

The service will allow ads across all Virgin’s platforms to be targeted to all 3.8 million of Virgin’s individual households. Initially, it will be rolled out with VoD content with linear following shortly after. Virgin has been trialling targeted advertising with Starcom Mediavest clients Honda, Gillette and BlackBerry, using its TiVo interface.

Customer information including postcode, age and programme packages, will be used to better target its audience. The company is understood to be in discussions with database marketing company Experian and retail partners about combining data to enhance segmentation. It hasn’t confirmed whether the ad-targeting service will work on an opt-in or opt-out basis.

Sky has yet to set a date for the launch of its equivalent service, AdSmart, which is available through Sky Player but not set to launch beyond that until 2013, when it will be focused on reaching linear TV rather than on-demand.

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