Sky looking to incorporate targeted adverts in Sky+

Sky set to change its adverts
Sky set to change its adverts

Sky+ is actively looking to add targeted advertising into its broadcasts, which will link adverts to various user data, such as postcode, age and viewing package.

This is according to Sky chief operating officer Mike Darcey, who said about the advert idea: "If you're Ford, rather than having to take a bet that the Mondeo ad is your best option across a single nationwide Sky 1 audience, you can segment audiences so that they see the most relevant Ford ad available.

"So a young woman sees an ad for a hatchback and the family of five next door sees an ad for an MPV."

Thanks for the ad

While it is unknown how aggressive Sky will go with its targeted advertising, what is known is that the technology has been available to broadcasters for some time.

TechRadar met up with NDS, who creates a lot of back-end technology for EPGs, back in January 2010, where we were demoed some advert technology.

Sky is currently using AdSmart for its Sky Player app and it is thought that this service will be what incorporates the targeted advertising into your Sky viewing experience.

Darcy noted that Sky will ask users for permission to use this technology, which will come in the form of an updated contract condition, but no timeline was given for when the adverts would likely appear.

Marc Chacksfield

Marc Chacksfield is the Editor In Chief, Shortlist.com at DC Thomson. He started out life as a movie writer for numerous (now defunct) magazines and soon found himself online - editing a gaggle of gadget sites, including TechRadar, Digital Camera World and Tom's Guide UK. At Shortlist you'll find him mostly writing about movies and tech, so no change there then.