Boing Boing TV Accepting In-Stream Ads

Nate Elliott | October 23, 2007, 11:18 AM

I've just noticed -- to my great excitement -- that Boing Boing TV is running in-stream ads. The episodes start with a content tease, have a three-second "sponsored by" message, run a two- to three-minute feature, follow that with a 15-second mid-roll ad, and then run another two- to three-minute feature. The advertiser (right now it's IBM, masquerading as "CreateSimplicity.com") also gets a rectangular ad alongside the video window. It's a similar to a model that Sport1 uses here in Germany, as discussed in our Online Video Advertising Best Practices report.

This is notable because Boing Boing is the kind of site -- a quirky, well-respected blog with an independent streak -- that might normally reject in-stream advertising as awful and intrusive without even really considering the evidence. (The evidence, of course, shows that in-stream ads are valuable to advertisers and when managed correctly are acceptable to consumers.) It's good to see Boing Boing and their "band manager" John Battelle listening to -- and acting on -- the facts, rather than popular misinformation.