DirecTV is planning to introduce its “pause ads” feature on its newly-launched free, ad-supported streaming television (FAST) platform MyFree DirecTV in the near future, a company executive affirmed this week.
Speaking at the virtual Streaming Media Connect conference on Thursday, DirecTV’s Senior Vice President of Ad Sales Matthew Van Houten said advertisers have responded well to the feature since it was introduced a few years ago on the company’s pay TV platforms, including through DirecTV’s connected set-top boxes and on Gemini and Gemini Air devices that run DirecTV via Internet and DirecTV Stream.
The feature stands out from the traditional 30-second spot run on linear TV by incorporating visual cues such as brand messaging callouts, QR codes and animations, often with no audio. The ads pop up about 15 seconds after an in-progress show or movies is paused across certain linear channels and on-demand catalogs, then quickly disappears when content is resumed. Users can also dismiss the ads by pressing any button on their remote control.
“What we’re finding with pause ads is that the recall rate is through the roof…two and a half times more recall than the standard ad,” Van Houten proclaimed. “Because [pause ads are] such a newer and unique experience, they’re really performing.”
Van Houten said pause ads can be more effective than traditional TV spots because they don’t have a limited run of 15 or 30 seconds. While some advertisers have experimented with displaying QR codes on their traditional TV spots, pause ads tend to utilize them more effectively, because they don’t disappear from the screen after a few seconds.
DirecTV’s pause ad inventory continue to sell out on the platforms where the feature is currently available, and prices have increased accordingly, Van Houten confirmed. Adding pause ads in MyFree DirecTV should give the company even more inventory to sell, allowing advertisers to buy against more than 70 FAST channels, in addition to show and movies from its broadcast and cable networks.
The pause ads feature earned DirecTV a technical Emmy Award earlier this year, and has been replicated by some of its peers, including Dish Network’s Sling TV, Comcast’s Peacock and Paramount Plus. YouTube has also experimented with pause ads on its YouTube TV platform. The Interactive Advertising Bureau is currently weighing different advertising standards for connected TV, and pause ads are something that the organization is looking closely at, Van Houten said.
