[opendtv] Wal-Mart Is Upgrading Its Vast In-Store Television Network

Wal-Mart Is Upgrading Its Vast In-Store Television Network

February 21, 2005
  By CONSTANCE L. HAYS

PEARLAND, Tex. - Here in the Houston suburbs, Banana-Vision
has arrived. That's the industry nickname for the 42-inch
high-definition L.C.D. monitor installed directly over a
pyramid of bright yellow bananas in the produce section of
the local Wal-Mart store.

This TV screen and others scattered through the store are
part of the Wal-Mart TV Network, a Web network of in-store
programming that the company started in 1998. These days it
shows previews of soon-to-be-released movies, snippets of
sports events and rock concerts, and corporate messages
from the world of Wal-Mart, including some intended to
improve its battered public image.

But the principal reason for Wal-Mart TV is to show a
constant stream of consumer product ads purchased by
companies like Kraft, Unilever, Hallmark and PepsiCo. And
little wonder. According to Wal-Mart and to an agency that
handles its ad sales, the TV operation captures some 130
million viewers every four weeks, making it the
fifth-largest television network in the United States after
NBC, CBS, ABC and Fox.

While other retailers have experimented with in-store
television, Wal-Mart's network, which is available in
almost all its 2,600 locations, is the most extensive. The
company, eager to promote it, is upgrading its broadcasting
plans and equipment.

...

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/21/business/media/21mart.html?ex=1266642000&en=68665de07917ff37&ei=5090

 
 
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