Weather.com launches ad-friendly video player

Several big names have jumped at the chance to advertise within Weather.com's new video player. Called the "Blue Box", the player runs a pre-roll ad and two banners for the advertising messages.

by Kristina Knight

Zantac, Staples, Airtran, Michelin, Nationwide and Georgia-Pacific are already on board as advertisers.

The platform runs a pre-roll ad before the chosen video is launched. While the pre-roll ad runs, a 300x250 banner covers the playlist and after the pre-roll has finished the banner retracts to a 468x60 size and is placed below the video playlist.

The Weather Channel Interactive is using Dart for Publishers ad management feature and DoubleClick's In-Stream video ad server. Some of the content is made for the Internet but TWCI will also serve up some content from The Weather Channel's television broadcasts. Users can find forecasts, news and breaking weather, lifestyle programming, Severe Weather and programming from The Weather Channel itself.

In addition to video, TWCI is looking to syndicate some content through blogs, email and social networks using Brightcove's Internet Television interface.

As more users connect to the Internet while on the go or while looking for specific information like weather conditions, this new ad-supported video feature is a great idea. When users log on, they can find the specific content for which they are looking quickly and with ad information attached. Whether connected through a handheld device, laptop or mobile phone, users will be able to see breaking news, find out about their forecast and send interesting tidbits to friends and family.