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Adwired helps advertisers make money out of TV commercial reselling
US-based company Adwired is making a push with its online content and payment management solution for TV commercials. The service helps TV commercial creators and content rights owners to generate revenue out of previously aired TV ads.
The company has set up a 10,000 commercial strong database from various TV commercial content owners, which can be accessed online, by subscribers after payment.
Private industry users can buy TV commercials for non-commercial use. Members who have made their content part of the database are paid every time their commercial is sold.
Adwired protects the copyright ownership of advertising ads through its pioneering deployment of Microsoft’s digital rights management technology on the Internet.
A file is encrypted so content cannot be viewed without an electronic key. Once a high-resolution file has been purchased it can be downloaded to the member’s desktop.
A member is able to view the commercial from their computer or record the commercial to videotape to show the client. They can also order the commercial from Adwired but they can not retransmit the encrypted images over the Internet. “This extra measure of security safeguards content from being distributed for free,” points out Adwired’s senior technologist Kelly Dunn.
TV commercials have been copied off the TV screen and sold for research and for competitive brand studies by ad agencies since the sixties. Commercials are purchased by the agencies for new business pitches, account supervisors purchase their competitors’ newest spots, subscription sites on the Internet sell individual ads and some market their own Best of Collections.
Adwired founder Whitney Rauh estimates that a $100 million revenue stream outside the longstanding licensing agreements that govern normal public commercial use exists.
This diversion of intellectual property for private trade use “fed a cottage industry on steroids for forty years of unregulated growth until it burgeoned into the 800 pound gorilla no one dares confront today,” says Rauh.
“Every legitimate stakeholder loses,” said Rauh. “The performers miss out and most importantly, the legal content owners are totally ignored,” she adds. In the US, the intellectual property owners are the advertisers; never once have they been paid when their commercials were sold to the trade. Rauh has been hoping to change that through Adwired.
Curiously, a few privileged content owners successfully claim compensation for resold work even before Adwired. Major networks and broadcast outlets are uniquely positioned to profit from the after sales of their content. “The fact that the TV monitoring companies pay some broadcast stations $13 for each content resale, acknowledges the content owners’ right to claim payment,” reveals Rauh.
Adwired has modeled its repayment mechanism after those begun by the performing rights associations. “Just ten years ago, ASCAP and BMI first began distributing royalties received from TV & radio stations back to advertising agencies. Today these sums are quite significant. Over the next ten years, we hope to achieve the same level of compensation on privately used commercials,” discloses Rauh.
Adwired will distribute major portions of the collected fees back to both content owner and the agency (which supplies credits and the performer’s contact information).
Adwired recently received groundbreaking permission to showcase the 2002 One Show winning commercials in a public section of their site from the Screen Actors Guild, AFTRA, and the American Federation of Musicians. The One Show winners are the first commercials in advertising that are DRM enabled. They can be accessed at http://www.adwired.com/ with only a simple registration.
NEW DELHI: Hamdard Laboratories gathered a cross-section of India’s achievers in New Delhi on Friday, handing out the Hakeem Abdul Hameed Excellence Awards to figures who have left their mark across healthcare, education, sport, public service and the arts.
The ceremony, attended by minister of state for defence Sanjay Seth and senior officials from the ministry of Ayush, celebrated individuals whose work blends professional success with a sense of public purpose. It was as much a roll call of achievement as it was a reminder that influence is not measured only in profits or podiums, but in people reached and lives improved.
Among the headline awardees was Alakh Pandey, founder and chief executive of PhysicsWallah, recognised for turning affordable digital learning into a mass movement. On the sporting front, Arjuna Awardee and kabaddi player Sakshi Puniya was honoured for her contribution to the game and for pushing women’s participation onto bigger stages.
The cultural spotlight fell on veteran lyricist and poet Santosh Anand, whose songs have echoed across generations of Hindi cinema. At 97, Anand accepted the honour with characteristic humility, reflecting on a life shaped by perseverance and hope.
Healthcare honours spanned both modern and traditional systems. Manoj N. Nesari was recognised for strengthening Ayurveda’s place in national and global health frameworks. Padma shri Mohammed Abdul Waheed was honoured for his research-backed work in Unani medicine, while padma shri Mohsin Wali received recognition for his long-standing contribution to patient-centred care.
Education and social development also featured prominently. Padma shri Zahir Ishaq Kazi was honoured for decades of work in education, while former Meghalaya superintendent of Police T. C. Chacko was recognised for public service. Goonj founder Anshu Gupta received an award for his dignity-centred rural development initiatives, and the Hunar Shakti Foundation was honoured for empowering women and young girls through skill development.
The Lifetime Achievement Award went to former IAS officer Shailaja Chandra for her long career in public healthcare and governance, particularly in the traditional systems under Ayush.
Speaking at the event, Hamdard chairman Abdul Majeed said the awards were a tribute to those who combine excellence with empathy. “These awardees reflect Hakeem Sahib’s belief that healthcare, education and public service must ultimately serve humanity,” he said.
Minister Seth struck a forward-looking note, saying India’s young population gives the country a unique opportunity to become a global destination for learning, health and wellness by 2047.
The ceremony also featured the trailer launch of Unani Ki Kahaani, an upcoming documentary starring actor Jim Sarbh, set to premiere on Discovery on 11 February.
Instituted in memory of Unani scholar and educationist Hakeem Abdul Hameed, the awards have grown into a national platform that celebrates those building a more inclusive and resilient India. For one evening at least, the spotlight was not just on success, but on service with substance.
