Cox Communications contracted with TVN Entertainment for a customized video-on-demand barker channel, which the operator is deploying across all of its systems.
This is an extension of a relationship between the companies. The latest barker version, however, bears Cox logos and is updated weekly.
Bob Nocera, director of marketing, new video services for Cox, noted that the operator now has 8,000 VOD assets that consumers need to know about, some of which change each week.
He estimated that as much as 25% of the content is refreshed by content providers on a weekly basis. Plus, Cox adds new titles frequently that need to be listed.
Internal research by the operator showed that awareness of the movies available on-demand is high: 90% of the company’s subscribers are familiar with the theatrical titles that are available on VOD.
But other offerings -- such as FreeZone content and subscription services such as WWE 24/7 and Howard (Stern) TV, and even on-demand versions of premium services, such as Starz on Demand -- have lower awareness levels, he added.
Cox uses the TVN barker as channel 1 in all of its systems except Omaha, Neb., where it appears on channel 998, Nocera said.
TVN began offering weekly customized barker channels for affiliates at the end of 2004, vice president of marketing Amy Kan said. Users of the product include Cox, Charter Communications and Mediacom Communications.
Kan added that as VOD has matured as a product, operators have begun focusing on the most effective way to market the content on the platform. TVN has content from 150 vendors, but cable operators choose what content they want featured on the barker channel.
Nocera said the barker is effective in signaling the presence of short-term content. For instance, the operator used the tool to notify potential users of horror films on the platform last October, placed as part of AMC’s annual Monsterfest promotion. New content is also highlighted there, such as karaoke programming offered by Oxygen added in the fourth quarter.
