Right in time for March Madness—and a challenging environment for online advertising—ESPN360 last week starting allowing marketers to place ad insertions into live event streams.  Since Friday and continuing through March 15, advertisers will be featured in live streams of at least 124 college basketball conference tournament games, including simulcasts of every ESPN (NYSE: DIS) and ESPN2 men’s and women’s game as well as a number of out-of-market games from top conference tournaments.  Additional games will include every NCAA Women’s Tournament game, and select post-season National Invitational Tournament (NIT) games online. 

SEE ALSO: College Hoops: CBS Expands MMOD Video, ESPN360 To Stream 124 Conference Games

By allowing the insertion of dynamic ads into its live simulcasts, the Disney-owned sports media franchise promises it can work with marketers on making the ads in pod more creative and flexible, as opposed to offering sliced up versions of a general TV spot. In particular, ESPN believes that insertion offering will make it possible to more effectively sell its premium inventory. The technology was developed with help from the Disney Interactive Media Group and if the test works as they expect, over the next few months other Disney digital properties will quickly adopt it for other big events such as awards shows and special entertainment webcasts.

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