[Satellite TODAY 11-24-10] U.S. satellite pay-TV competitors DirecTV and Dish Network are planning to enter a joint deal with a media buyer to allow interactive advertisements to flow to both DirecTV and Dish subscribers, the companies announced Nov. 23.
    The cooperative deal is a follow-up to the Advanced Satellite Advertising Platform joint venture formed by the two companies in April 2010 to offer a combined interactive advertisement platform to media buyers.
    Analysts said the deal would provide both companies with a combined subscriber base of more than 35 million, offering a lucrative market opportunity to several large advertisers. The DirecTV-Dish Network joint venture will enable subscribers to request more information from their respective remote control units while advertisers will be able to integrate value-added services like games and information galleries into their advertisements.
    The Advanced Satellite Advertising Platform will do business with Rentrak Corp. and Kantar Media to process data from set-top boxes, which will be shared with advertisers to facilitate decision making.