The Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE) recently initiated work on three new technical standards to meet the industry’s need to facilitate delivery of more cost-effective advertising.
The SCTE Standards Program is defining this process, known as addressable advertising, via DVS 629, which currently comprises seven parts or individual standards. The first four parts already have been in development and issued for technical comments, the consensus balloting stage, within the Digital Video Subcommittee (DVS).
With the recent approval by the SCTE Engineering Committee, which oversees the SCTE Standards Program, efforts are now underway to start development of the remaining three parts of DVS 629.
Part 5 is the Placement Opportunity Information Service, which defines the interface between software routines of the ad-placement query and notification functions. The Subscriber Information Service interface specified in Part 6 implements the subscriber information (some level of demographical data) query functions. Part 7, Message Transport Compliance, provides the glue connecting the system together by defining the physical and messaging protocols that transport data between services that are specified in Part 2 through Part 6.
The earlier DVS 629 parts are already issued for balloting. Part 1 is an Advertising System Overview, which provides an informative introduction and the overall description of the suite of DVS 629 standards. Part 2 defines the Core Data Elements, including data types and messaging services within the digital advertising system. Part 3, Ad Management Service, explains the requirements of the interface that defines ad-insertion opportunities and the handling of subsequent placement decisions. The Content Information Service described in Part 4 defines the content query and notification functions.
Including the initial planning stage, the SCTE’s involvement with standardizing addressable advertising began about two years ago, but most of the work has been performed in the last year. Within the DVS Subcommittee, the specific group charged with building DVS 629 is Working Group 5 (WG5), Digital Program Insertion (DPI). More than 60 companies are participating in the DVS Subcommittee, and about 30 of those companies are involved in developing DVS 629.
Platforms taken into account in the initial design of the DVS 629 standard include traditional linear advertising, VOD and advanced set-top box and DVR applications.
At least one Multiple System Operator (MSO) is planning to trial the DVS 629 system for VOD applications late in 2007.
For more information, visit www.scte.org.
