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LG smart TVs begin augmenting commercials with interactive pop-ups

LG smart TVs begin augmenting commercials with interactive pop-ups

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smart tv program remind app
smart tv program remind app

Smart TVs have done a lot to help viewers get access to online content, but now advertisers are hoping that those same smarts can help send viewers back to live TV. Some of LG's smart TVs are beginning to use software that will allow network advertisers to augment traditional commercials for TV shows with interactive pop-ups. From one of the pop-ups, viewers are able to set an alert to remind them when the show is airing. Then, no matter what they're doing on the TV, they'll receive an onscreen notification when the program is about to begin — even if they're busy playing a video game.

A helpful reminder from an enhanced ad

The apparent hope is that the ads will remind viewers to watch a show when it's airing live — and when they're forced to sit through ads — rather than having them catch it later through a DVR recording or a web connected TV app. For viewers already inclined toward the latter, the new advertising mechanism may not fit in with how they consume content. But for forgetful viewers who want to keep up with weekly dramas, it may not seem intrusive at all.

The ad software was developed by Visible World, and though it's only on LG TVs for now, that may not always be the case. The company tells us that its enhanced ads could move over to other manufacturer's sets in the future, and that it's currently in discussions to make that happen. So far, the technology is in around 500,000 shipped LG TV sets, and it's starting to see its first public tests through the National Geographic Channel, which is hoping that the smart ads can help remind viewers to tune in for Doomsday Castle.