Products / Services

ARRIS, Avail-TVN and BlackArrow Collaborate to Deliver Video-On-Demand Advertising Technology Solution

Purchase, NY, January 14, 2010 - Bresnan Communications, the leading provider of advanced broadband services in their Rocky Mountain footprint, today announced the start of an advertising trial using new technology which makes possible the dynamic insertion of advertisements into video-on-demand (VOD) programming.

Traditionally, advertising within video-on-demand content has had limited effectiveness due to the static nature of the ads being encoded into the VOD stream. By contrast, dynamic ad insertion (DAI) enables advertisements to be selected in real time, based on variable factors, such as context, content, location and time of day.

Bresnan has launched a DAI trial in the Montana markets of Billings, Bozeman, Helena and Missoula using standards-based technologies that allow it to manage and deliver timely advertiser messages and a more relevant VOD viewer experience.

As part of the trial, Bresnan has integrated the capabilities of three leading cable technology innovators including ARRIS, a global communications technology company providing voice, data, and video solutions; Avail-TVN, the largest digital media services company in North America; and BlackArrow, a leading worldwide provider of advanced advertising solutions for New Television platforms.

“Bresnan’s on-demand services and libraries are growing exponentially in keeping with burgeoning customer demand,” said Kelly Enright, Regional Vice President of Advertising Sales for Bresnan Communications. “This trial will grow the value of our Video on Demand platform to both advertisers and content partners as we begin to offer a completely new advertising model. Dynamic ad insertion offers an exciting opportunity to develop campaigns that provide relevant, measurable and highly effective advertising to a growing audience and allows programmers to manage on-demand advertising inventory for the first time, while developing a whole new stream of advertising revenue.”

The Bresnan dynamic VOD trial utilizes technology from ARRIS, Avail-TVN and BlackArrow. The combined vendor solution easily integrates with Bresnan’s existing VOD architecture, enabling standardized metadata and workflow processes for delivery of content information and advertisement data between the Avail-TVN ADONISS™ Asset Management System and the BlackArrow Advanced Advertising System, as well as ad placement and inventory allocation capabilities that utilize the ARRIS VOD ConvergeMedia™ platform and the BlackArrow Placement Opportunity Information Service (POIS) and Allocation Manager.

ARRIS is a global communications technology company specializing in the design, engineering and supply of technology supporting quad-play broadband services for residential and business customers around the world. The company supplies broadband operators with the tools and platforms they need to deliver, reliable telephony, demand driven video, next-generation advertising and high-speed data services. Headquartered in Suwanee, Georgia, USA, ARRIS has R&D centers in Suwanee; Chicago, IL; Beaverton OR, Kirkland, WA; State College, PA; Wallingford CT; Waltham, MA; Cork, Ireland; and Shenzhen, China, and operates support and sales offices throughout the world. Information about ARRIS products and services can be found at www.arrisi.com.

Avail-TVN is the largest independent digital media services company in North America. Working with every major studio and television network, the company offers a full content line up of MPEG-4 encoded live programming as well as video on demand content in MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 to multichannel video providers throughout the US, Canada, the Caribbean and Mexico. The Avail-TVN platform is an open, advanced technology, offering the most comprehensive, end-to-end solution for licensing, managing, distributing and marketing linear and on-demand content to virtually any platform today and is extensible to support the new services of tomorrow. For more information please visit avail-tvn.com.

BlackArrow is a leading worldwide provider of advanced advertising technology for New Television platforms. The company’s multiplatform advertising system is designed specifically for video content distributed over any on-demand platform, enabling networks and content distributors to maximize advertising revenues. BlackArrow is privately held, and backed by Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO), Comcast Interactive Capital, Intel Capital (NASDAQ: INTC), Mayfield Fund and Polaris Venture Partners. The company has offices in New York City and San Jose, Calif. For more information please visit www.blackarrow.tv.

Bresnan Communications, a broadband telecommunications company founded by Bill Bresnan in 1984, serves more than 320,000 customers throughout Colorado, Montana, Wyoming and Utah. Bresnan's advanced services and features include high-definition digital TV with video-on-demand, super high-speed Internet and digital phone. The company also serves the business community through its Business Services and Advertising Sales divisions. More information about Bresnan is available at