The media company has been revamping sites for local CBS affiliates to carry sponsored links delivered by Kanoodle’s LocalTarget product.
As Viacom relaunches CBS broadcast affiliate websites, they will create what could be a potent revenue stream, DMNews.com reported. Seventeen CBS stations will have updated websites going online by the end of 2005.
When they do go live, those sites will display topic-matched targeted advertising from Kanoodle. “It’s at the intersection of local sponsored links as well as the explosion of locally targeted content,” Mark Josephson, chief marketing officer at Kanoodle, said in the article.
After the CBS station websites have been updated, Viacom will turn its attention to sites for UPN affiliates in 2006. “The ability for us to bring sponsored links to site users not only provides a useful service to them, but also creates an important revenue generating stream for the stations group,” Viacom’s Jonathan Leess said in a statement.
Online advertising for local markets has had an impact on various media outlets already, most notably the print media sector. Big online players like Yahoo, MSN, and Google have been focusing efforts on grabbing bigger pieces of the local search, and thus advertising, markets.
TV affiliates have an advantage in being able to advertise their websites to their audiences during the broadcast day, particularly during local news shows. Being able to convert those viewers to web visitors and ad consumers can help reinforce the network and affiliate brands as people come to use and trust those sites and their sponsoring marketers.
David Utter is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business. Email him here.
