Will interactivity help TV viewers avoid the ads?(Brief Article)

Research suggests viewers are switching off the ads to go online.

"Just press the button," the commercial for Open urges us. And the thing is, we do. Those of us who can, that is. More than 60 per cent of people with access to interactive services have used them, according to Online Culture, a research study published by the Henley Centre last week. That is more than three million viewers in total. Which is good news, isn't it?

Well, yes. Sort of. But the bad news, again according to Online Culture, is that a quarter of all interactive activity takes place during TV ad breaks. And we're not talking about people clicking through from interactive ads. In any case, interactive ads are always scheduled at the ends of breaks to counter the possibility of just this sort of ratings drain.

No. We're talking about the interactive domain as a kettle substitute -- instead of getting up off the couch to make a cup of tea when the break starts, people are pressing the button and flipping through to explore the interactive domain.

They're checking out advertiser microsites, they're trying to work out how to use the e-mail function and they're attempting to play games such as Battleships and Trivial Pursuit.

So it's no surprise to find advertisers worried about this dynamic, and none more so than one of the study's backers: Abbey National. In a statement coinciding with the study's publication, Ambrose McGinn, Abbey National's retail e-commerce and strategic development director, states that the figures could accelerate the bank's move out of TV and into other media. "We are moving away from broadcasting anyway, but we don't want to pay for television spots if people are not watching, but doing something else," he says. "The funding model in the television industry may have to change as a result in the long term."

Strong stuff. Is he right? Some will point out the irony of Abbey National's stand on this.