NEW YORK: The ubiquitous gas station in the U.S. may in the immediate future offer TV programs for the drivers on the move. As they fill up their tanks, they can have the luxury of viewing news, current events, weather clips and traffic reports and of course, advertising, on high-definition television screens.
The service is being readied by a privately-held company, Gas Station TV. It said it will distribute programming to at least 500 Murphy's Oil stations across the country. It will raise revenue from advertising. The service is already available in several Dallas gas stations.
The company will air national and local news from the ABC Network on 20-inch screens installed at the gas stations. ABC will also help sell advertising on screens. The programming will be distributed electronically through secure feeds over the internet.
Gas Station TV, launched by media and advertising executives, is headed by chief executive David Leider, formerly of Yahoo Inc., and chief financial officer Stephen Kuehn, who was with WPP's automotive advertising account with Ford Motor Co.
Leider said the company is focused on making the programming useful to users and tailored to the average length of time it takes drivers to fill up gas -- about four minutes.
He said the company had received overwhelming response from gas station owners in Dallas where it has already tested the service. The company had also received good response from advertisers, including PepsiCo Inc., The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. and Allstate Corp.
