In the latest in a string of acquisitions aimed at expanding its digital advertising services, Microsoft said it is buying Navic Networks, a maker of television advertising technology.

It comes as other major online advertising companies like Google, Yahoo and AOL, and startups like Spot Runner, are attempting to bring to television many of the qualities of online advertising: lower cost of production, better targeting and better ways to measure results.

Navic, which is based in Waltham, Mass., and has about 80 employees, makes technology to create interactive ads. It also runs an advertising network that helps media buyers place ads on television shows. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

With the company’s interactive technology, a user can do things like click on an ad to see a more detailed video of a product or enter a phone number to receive an electronic coupon. Navic said its technology runs on some 35 million TV set top boxes.

“Navic is a great illustration of the continued investment that Microsoft is making in the TV space,” said Scott Ferris, general manager of emerging media in the advertiser & publisher solutions group at Microsoft.

In May, Kevin Johnson, president of Microsoft’s platforms and services division, which includes the company’s online business, told employees how Microsoft would accelerate its digital advertising business without Yahoo. One of several steps, laid out in a letter to employees, was the following: “Looking forward, we will focus on small, targeted acquisitions that support our work in search, complement our value in the ad platform and help us grow scale in key geographies,” Mr. Johnson wrote. ” Recent acquisitions including Rapt and YaData are examples of these types of acquisitions.”

It looks like Navic is the latest example of a targeted Microsoft acquisition.

Source:nytimesa