The UK Home Office has been accused of colluding with online ad firm Phorm on “informal guidance” to the public on whether the company’s service is legal. E-mails between the ministry and Phorm show the ministry asking if the firm would be “comforted” by its position. The messages show Phorm making changes to the guidance […]
The UK Internet Advertising Bureau has updated its best practice guidelines for online video advertising in a bid to standardise usage of ad formats in the emerging sector. The guidelines have been produced by the IAB Video Council, which includes representatives from YouTube, Guardian, Sky, Channel 4, Bauer, Telegraph, Microsoft, Yahoo and the BBC, with […]
From David Del Valle in Madrid The Spanish Government looks likely to approve a new tax on private networks to finance national public broadcaster RTVE to compensate the total abolition of advertising on the channel, possibly from next July. The new tax would represent around 3 per cent of their revenues, around E140 million, and […]
To extend the range of creative opportunities available to brands through TV advertising, Sky is launching Green Button advertising, a service which allows viewers to easily watch and access extended – or long form‚ advertising. Built on the same underlying technology as the Green Button programme reminder service, advertisers will be able to encourage viewers […]
Wikipedia has become the latest publisher to block Phorm from tracking users across its portfolio of sites. A company statement said: "The Wikimedia Foundation requests that our websites, including Wikipedia.org and all related domains, be excluded from scanning by the Phorm / BT Webwise system, as we consider the scanning and profiling of our visitors' […]
TiVo plans to begin this summer to provide anonymous, second-by-second ratings data for programmes and commercials airing in local U.S. markets, which the company says will provide greater granularity than current ratings samples from Nielsen and other measurement firms. The new “StopWatch Local Markets” service will only launch in a handful of markets–at least three, […]
Virgin Media has revealed the findings from the first-ever dynamic advertising trial on its on demand TV service. As part of a three-month trial, ads from leading brands including Kellogg's, John Lewis and Royal Mail, were inserted around selected on demand programmes from Virgin Media TV, Channel 4 and Warner TV, to 100,000 homes across […]
From David del Valle in Madrid Following the example of France, the Spanish Government has announced that it will drastically limit advertising on public television (which could even result in its complete elimination) as part of a wide-ranging new audiovisual law. The measure would directly affect national broadcaster RTVE – which operates La Primera and […]
The European Commission has opened an infringement proceeding against the UK after a series of complaints by UK Internet users, and extensive communication of the Commission with UK authorities, about the use of a behavioural advertising technology known as ‘Phorm’ by Internet service providers. The proceeding addresses several problems with the UK’s implementation of EU […]
Global advertising spending is set to fall 6.9 per cent this year to $453 billion with the Internet the only medium to attract higher expenditure on ads, media agency ZenithOptimedia said, cutting a previous forecast. ZenithOptimedia predicts the rate of decline would slow towards the end of the year and said spending might pick up […]