RSSZillionTV promises unlimited TV through targeted ads
By Tim Conneally | Published March 4, 2009, 1:51 PM
Beta testing for ZillionTV is currently under way, the streaming service closely follows the model Roku took with its own set-top box, but applies it to commercial television.
Users pay a one-time fee to activate the ZillionTV set top box and remote, and then hook it up to their broadband connection to begin streaming content. The service then offers viewing tiers: the free, ad-subsidized tier, the rental tier, and the "buy to own" tier. The ad-subsidized tier features interactive ads targeted to the user's preferences. Before watching subsidized programming, for example, the user could have to select the ads they'd most like to see, the ads are also affected by the user's location, viewing habits, and demographics.
Currently, content comes from 20th Century Fox Television, Walt Disney Studios, NBC Universal, Sony Pictures and Warner Bros. Digital Distribution.
Users can inquire about beta testing on the ZillionTV site. The service is being rolled out throughout 2009, but is limited by ISP bandwidth caps, so there is no guarantee that certain areas will ever have access to ZillionTV.
Seems to me this advertising on cable is all wrong. We pay to have cable in our home and that does not include looking at advertisements directed to you. You can do that on regular television, no cable needed!
Another way for the cable company to make money and to cheat their customers. Considering we have to pay a overly high price for cable, is there a profit sharing part to these adds for customers who are paying to see them.
It is a nasty joke so do not put up with it.
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|Have a look at this, from today's NY Times:
Cable Companies Target Commercials to Audience
The advertiser’s dream of sending a particular commercial to a specific consumer is one step closer to reality as Cablevision Systems plans to announce the largest project yet using targeted advertising on television.
Beginning with 500,000 homes in Brooklyn, the Bronx and some New Jersey areas, Cablevision will use its targeting technology to route ads to specific households based on data about income, ethnicity, gender or whether the homeowner has children or pets.
The technology requires no hardware or installation in a subscriber’s home, so viewers may not realize they are seeing ads different from a neighbor’s. But during the same show, a 50-something male may see an ad for, say, high-end speakers from Best Buy, while his neighbors with children may see one for a Best Buy video game.
http://www.nytimes.com/2...le.html?ref=todayspaper
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|That is very scary indeed...letting any advertiser know what my income is or any other personal item. Although, how do they know if I have a pet. I guess when I go sign up for cable in the future, a required field on the form will ask if I have one...lol.
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|Hmmm.. ISP bandwidth caps will keep people from moving to new tech and keep the cable companies making tons of money from TV ads and channels we don't ever watch..
This is more like the old rabbit ears days
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