Head to head with the zappers

News Corp president Peter Chernin told an industry conference in the US on Monday that his company had developed a grand plan to deal with the serious threat of ad zapping from digital video recorders.

More live sport, live news and live events were critical, he said, because viewers skipped ads less often during this sort of programming. The second tactic was to dish up more content that viewers had to pay to watch, such as video on demand and DVDs, thereby reducing the reliance on ad revenue. Finally, Chernin signalled that News would pursue more branded entertainment initiatives, whereby advertisers pay to blend in with programming.

"We have to rethink the way we sell advertising," Chernin told the Cable & Telecommunications Association conference in New York. "When we put six to eight 30-second commercials back to back, we put up a sign saying, 'Go away now'. We better figure out a way to grow the opportunities faster than the disruptions hurt us."

Well, if the new global head of Aegis, Robert Lerwill, comes good on his threat, more disruption is on its way.

Aegis controls $US7.2 billion ($9.3 billion) globally in media advertising placement for major clients through its two media buying and planning networks, Carat and Vizeum. Lerwill, who was in Australia last week, says by the end of next year, half of his company's media expenditure - in other words, more than $US3.5 billion - will be going to digital channels (online, mobile phones, digital TV, video games and the like). Last year, less than 10 per cent, or $US700 million, of global media buying from Aegis went to digital media.

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