Fox is taking a bold step forward and breaking the traditional advertising model on on-demand video content. From August 19 to September 13, 2015, the broadcasting network will let users choose to watch just one 60-second ad before episodes of MasterChef Junior on its digital outlets.
Viewers of MasterChef Junior, a cooking show hosted by Gordon Ramsay starring kid contestants, will be able to watch a one-minute ad sponsored by the California Milk Advisory Board before full episodes of the show run without interruption. If audiences decline, Fox will serve up the traditional ten-minute aggregate ad loads during those 45 minutes of show time. Episodes of MasterChef Junior will be available on the Fox Now mobile and internet platforms, just in time for the show’s fourth season premiere on November 4.
Fox’s singular opt-in ad strategy was created in conjunction with 21st Century Fox-owned startup true[X], which was founded by Fox Networks’ President of Advanced Advertising Products Joe Marchese. The network has used true[X] technology before to allow online viewers the choice of which one ad (instead of several) to watch during breaks, and Hulu (backed in part by Fox) has also used the tech to allow viewers ad selections. But Variety notes the MasterChef Junior campaign is the first time a brand has invested in just one spot on an entire episode.
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“If advertising is going to survive, it’s got to be something consumers accept,” Marchese explained. “The interruptive ad model needs to evolve.”
Marchese also told Variety the goal with the MasterChef Junior opt-in ad campaign is to improve the financial value and efficiency of ads overall. The executive didn’t reveal any specific numbers, but said the cost-per-thousand (CPM) for opt-in ads on Fox are roughly ten times higher than regular video ads the network delivers.
Additionally, Fox claims the true[X]-powered adss which require viewer interaction result in 83% opt-in and 12% click-through rates, numbers Marchese thinks will only rise for the MasterChef Junior campaign. “It’s the difference between someone shouting a message at you as you walk by, versus someone saying, ‘OK, I’m going to choose to watch this,’” he said.
Fox’s stance on the reach and efficacy of more targeted (and less) advertising is backed by at least one recent finding on consumer interactions with ads based on opt-in requirements. While viewers generally dislike the number of ads on video content (Variety quotes a Strata Marketing survey where 43% of 18-29-year-olds call online video ads annoying), FreeWheel discovered completion rates on 15- to 30-second video ads in front of content behind authentication walls (like pay-TV providers) hit 90% overall. This proves consumers are willing to sit through ads to access their favorite programming, the exact same belief driving Fox’s opt-in campaign on MasterChef Junior.
Variety reports Fox will sell more engagement-only ad campaigns in the future on more of the network’s content, as part of the company’s overall efforts to combat declining TV ad revenue and bump up its digital advertising income.
