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Borders: Have Some TV with Your Books and Latte

Borders bookstores are climbing aboard the in-store TV bandwagon. The company has installed 60 screens to date, and will begin testing serving ads and content via TV in Southern California.

The network, Borders TV, will be found in 250 stores by February, writes Brandweek. Ford has signed on as an initial advertiser.

Kim Norris, president of the Out of Home Video Advertising Bureau, says that marketers as well as consumers are becoming more open to in-store TV. “As long as you’re providing content that is valuable to the consumer, they really do welcome screens in the environments they’re in,” he says.

Each store will have two screens that will air original programming, news and weather, in addition to ads, according to The New York Times.

Borders is partnering with Ripple, a company that provides information like news, traffic and weather to TVs in public places, for content.

Robert Weissman, managing director of consumer advocacy group Commercial Alert, pointed out that services such as Borders TV could backfire. “While people realistically can’t decide not to fly to avoid being bombarded by TV programming, the situation is different at a bookstore. People can easily decide to leave the bookstore, and go to another, or buy books online.”

In-store TV networks are projected to gain 43 percent in the next year, generating $330 million, according to PQ Media. The medium is becoming especially attractive to advertisers in the age of ad-skipping, as consumers don’t have the option of turning off the set when they are in the store.