Ryan also realizes that cable's future is digital, and that future extends to ad insertion. Operators can use the analog system as an inexpensive "placeholder" as they transition to digital, he claims. AdGorilla, a company with 13 employees, expects to rollout an all-digital ad insertion platform in September.

    Ryan says he has already started some integration discussions with the people behind Beyond Broadband Technology LLC (BBT) , an operator-led venture that is developing a downloadable conditional access system and an "open" digital set-top platform. Buford Media is one of BBT's backers. (See Small Cablers Plan Sub-$100 Set-Tops and BBT Exits Alpha .)