Microsoft acquires interactive TV firm
Waltham company will aid advertising strategy
Microsoft Corp. is set to say today that it has acquired Waltham interactive television and advertising firm Navic Networks for an undisclosed amount, reflecting a larger push to make TV advertising more relevant, interactive, and measurable.
Navic Networks, founded in 2001, enables interactive television, such as polls or trivia questions that allow viewers to respond with remote controls. The company also provides tools to measure audience behavior, allowing advertisers to better choose ad slots.
"It's really a superb complement to a suite of technology offerings we have today in the online space, but also in the TV space," said Scott Ferris, senior vice president and general manager of emerging media at Microsoft.
Advertisers expect accountability and flexibility on the Web, where they can count clicks or buy ads in real time. Navic tries to bring that to living rooms with an offering called Admira that lets advertisers know where their audience is in real time.
"It is a complete rethinking of the television paradigm - converting TV from a 'time and place' advertising model to audience-centric," said Chet Kanojia, Navic's chief executive. "A media buyer can log in on a site and describe the audience they are looking for," and then find their ideal ad slot using real-time data from set-top boxes. Such efforts to create better-targeted television advertising have exploded recently.
Google unveiled a partnership with satellite provider Dish Network last year and publicly launched Google TV Ads in April. The service allows the purchase of ad slots, giving advertisers feedback on the number of viewers through information gathered from set-top boxes.
Canoe Ventures, a joint venture of leading cable operators, has said it will work to improve audience measurement, increase interactive services, and allow more sophisticated audience targeting.
Microsoft is stepping into the game with Navic, which has partnerships with cable and satellite television companies and says its technology is on more than 35 million set-top boxes in the United States. The company can enable interactive campaigns, like the one it did recently for Bravo and four cable operators, allowing "Project Runway" viewers in some markets to vote in polls and answer trivia questions with their remote controls.
The idea of interactive TV is not new, but viewers and technology may finally be ready, according to James McQuivey, an analyst at Forrester Research.
"Timing makes a huge difference," McQuivey said. Ten years ago, "we didn't even know how people would use the Web, much less how they would use interactivity and television. Now we have seen people watch TV on their PCs. We've seen how they interact."
Carolyn Y. Johnson can be reached at cjohnson@globe.com.
