In recent years, RetailWire has reported on in-store television networks from Best Buy, Dollar General, Target, Walmart and others. In general, the response to the value of these networks has been lukewarm, with BrainTrust panelists and others pointing to the difficulty in measuring effectiveness from either a brand advertising or product movement standpoint.
Now comes word from the Los Angeles Times that McDonald's is launching its own network in high definition at restaurants across the country. Programming from BBC America, KABC-TV Eyewitness News and reality television guru Mark Burnett will debut as the fast feeder rolls out the network to 800 locations in Southern and Central California. The plan is to tailor content to audiences based on location.
Commercials will take up eight minutes of every hour with six-and-a-half minutes for brands other than McDonald's.
In the past, McDonald's sought to move customers in and out of its restaurants, but that has changed in recent years as they have mimicked Starbucks.
"People today are using our restaurants differently than they have in the past," Danya Proud, a spokesperson for McDonald's USA, told the LA Times. "They've become more of a destination. With McDonald's restaurants offering Wi-Fi, we've become more relevant and contemporary."