MIAMI — If you thought advertising technology was becoming like rocket science, you may surprised how right you are – next up, TV ad-tech is going in to space.

TV ad technology provider INVIDI, which enables household-level TV ad targeting for broadcast companies more used to beaming out a single message en masse, is getting excited about a technology “satellite switching”.

How could satellites enable addressability? INVIDI CEO Dave Downey explains, in this video interview with Beet.TV.

“Until recently, the bandwidth on those satellites was in very high demand, they were very expensive,” he says. “With the advent of low-orbit satellites … there’s an abundance of geo-stationery transponder space.

“INIVIDI came up with the idea of switching the ads on some of these transponders, that are now not being used at all, to broadcast TV feeds.”

That means satellite TV operators wouldn’t just have to pre-load a selection of ads to subscribers’ DVRs, for targeting at the client end – they could also light up their entire footprint with addressability.

“If it was able to be launched in North America, it would be a great caveat to introducing national addressability,” Downey adds. “If you were to target the four or five broadcast networks, this may be an ability to get to another 25 to 30 million homes.”

For now, New Jersey-based INVIDI, which has a growing business of its own overseas, is targeting international operators with the technology.

In South America, Downey aims to help operators launch background channels carrying ads, which would be switched to during addressable moments.

This interview was conducted by Matter More Media CEO Tracey Scheppach for Beet.TV.

This interview was conducted at Beet Retreat 2016: The Transformation of Television Advertising, an executive retreat presented by Videology with AT&T AdWorks and the 605. Please find more videos from the event here.