Cable-backed company helps DirecTV to tear down competitive advertising barrier

DirecTV has joined the enemy, so to speak, to level the playing field on which it competes with cable TV operators. The leading satellite provider has partnered with Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Cox Communications-owned NCC Media to start selling advertising into local markets.

Because satellite signals rain down indiscriminately, DirecTV had previously been unable to compete with cable operators in delivering any kind of local programming--especially targeted local advertising. New software in DirecTV DVR boxes will enable the satellite provider to deliver targeted ads in local breaks across multiple networks, the company said. NCC will seamlessly integrate the new subscribers into "the buying and stewardship systems used by virtually every U.S. ad agency," the two companies said in a news release.

"Combining DirecTV's ad impressions with those of our cable market interconnects will deliver a tremendous advantage to advertisers-greater local reach and penetration against targeted consumers in the best programming on television," said Greg Schaefer, NCC Media president-CEO in the news release.

For more:
- see the release
- and this release

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