RSSTiVo debuts ads during fast-forward and pause
By Tim Conneally | Published December 9, 2008, 12:41 PM
With the TiVo Pause Menu that launched today, even if a user is fast-forwarding through the traditional ad breaks on a time-shifted program, he will still be subject to "premium" ads designed to appear in the truncated space.
The new system, announced this morning, would enable ads to be served during fast-forward or pause states.
"With the number of DVR homes on the rise, TV advertisers are facing a very serious commercial avoidance issue that must be addressed now," said Vice President of Marketing and Product Management David Sanford. TiVo has been searching for the elusive synergy between sponsor and viewer, where it gives one as many opportunities to advertise as it gives the other opportunities to skip advertisements.
TiVo has been stealing headlines on a weekly basis as it approaches the end of what could be its first profitable year thanks to the lawsuit settlement from EchoStar. The DVR company's unique capabilities for targeted advertising play no small role in its recent progress either.
When broadband-connected TiVo users pause a live or time-shifted broadcast, the new "Pause Menu" comes up, which not only displays Adwords-style text ads, but also allows users to perform TiVo Swivel Searches for program info, related shows, and downloads.
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|I always wondered why people pay a subscription for Tivo. DVR's and Media Centers have no subscriptions. At least I don't think you do for DVR's (I have a Media Center).
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|my guess you never used TiVo. So you wouldn't know, unfortunately.
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|No I haven't used a one, but what can a TiVo do that my Media Center can't do? I'm not trying to be a smart ass, I'm actually curious. I've got a dual HD tuner with a couple TB of space. It downloads the TV guide so that I can see what's on and record season passes if I want. I can pause, rewind and skip through commercials. What else does Tivo do that a Media Center can't do?
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|Let me guess. This will be a "feature" "designed" for the "benefit" of the "users".
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|That's a good one! Cheers!
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|They just added the swivel search during Pause. If they keep adding on-screen crap you'll be able to see less and less while you're pausing the program. One can only hope it disappears and hides itself after a few seconds.
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|I noticed after the update on my TiVo HD that even though I was fast forwarding I got some Domino's advertisment. Doesn't bother me as long as it lets me fast forward at the same speed, which it does.
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|Lets go back a few years ....
"Here is a cool product that allows you to skip commecials and watch your programs whenever you like"
Today ........
"You are going to have to look at ads no matter what you do, suckers"
I'll keep my DirecTV HR21's, thanks. 30 & 60 second skip via RS-232.
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|So how does this make the product cheaper for me?? or does the Tivo "owner" allows for direct marketing at his own expense.
TV already costs 50% too much.
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|Teh No3s!!@!!
Oh man... :(
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|The fast-forward part is incorrect. It only affects pause. It is also only being rolled out to Series 2 DVRs for now.
http://technologyexpert....hes-pause-menu-ads.html
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|Paragraph 3 of TiVo's PR today:
"The feature provides an original solution for advertisers seeking to capture the fast-forwarding viewer. It's another example of how TiVo offers unique and different solutions for advertisers looking to get viewers to watch advertisements who avoid traditional spots."
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|They use the term fast-forwarding users to be clever, but if you read Paragraph 2:
"Using the TiVo Pause Menu, advertisers can, for the first time, reach audiences with targeted product messages displayed within the PAUSE SCREEN of a Live or Timeshifted program."
Check other sites besides this one. No one mentions FF. Only Pause.
Also, it is only Series 2, as I said.
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|Part of the reason I pay Tivo is NOT to see ads at all... I don't care where. Over the years of having the Tivo service its getting infiltrated more and more and I hate it.
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|This is solved easily: Select-Play-Select-3-0-Select. The skip button becomes instant 30 second skip.
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|With 30 second skip it takes about 5 seconds for me to skip the commercials if I'm paying attention. Good luck getting an add in that.
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|The issue is that TiVo users pay for both hardware and for a subscription fee. Part of the incentive of using a DVR for some is to not be bombarded by advertising. The fact that the service deliberately injects while you are paying for the service (and users have already experiencced it without ads) may not go over well with some.
It also remains to be seen how effective these ads really are. Is the consumer who goes through the effort of skipping the broadcasted commercials going to pay any mind to these? It's kind of like people who use ad blockers on the web: disable the ad blocker and they still won't pay them any mind.
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|As long as the FF time interval is a decrease over real time playback and not modified by the addition of the 'new' ads, I don't care what they put in the otherwise dead interval...
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