Cable missing out on €4 billion ad revenue, says Viamedia chief

European cable operators are missing out on a €4 billion opportunity to harvest revenues from advertising, according to Jeff Carter, co-founder and CEO of US-based cable advertising systems provider Viamedia.

Speaking at the CTAM Europe EuroSummit yesterday, Carter told attendees: “There is a €4 billion opportunity in local TV advertising that’s not being realised in Europe.”

Carter, citing figures from IDATE, said that total cable revenues in Europe stood at €17.7 billion at the end of 2009. Cable TV revenues amounted to €9.9 billion. He said that the pattern of TV revenues per household was much the same level as in the US. However, only a few companies were investing in advertising. 
Carter said that while some companies were exploiting video-on-demand and interactive advertising opportunities, some 90% of cable ad revenues in the US came from the core linear TV product.