Interactive program guide vendor Rovi has launched a field trial to test the effectiveness of ads served to viewers who access the on-screen guides of broadband-connected TV devices.
The ads in the five-month, U.S.-only trial will be displayed on Samsung Electronics' line of Smart TVs and other connected devices, along with Blu-Ray Disc players and products from other consumer-electronics companies Rovi has not identified.
Advertisers and agencies set to participate in the trial include cruise-ship operator Carnival and its agency MPG, and BrightLine iTV, whose clients include Unilever. All told there will be about 10 advertisers involved, Rovi senior vice president of advertising Jeff Siegel said.
The U.S. trial will run from early April to the end of August. The company plans to launch additional field trials in the United Kingdom and Canada in the second half of this year.
