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NBC Snaps Up Pop Up TiVo Ads, Second-by-Second Viewership Ratings
NBC and TiVo have inked a nice little deal for ads and ratings. On the ad side, advertisers who buy spots on any of NBC Universal's networks—NBC, Sci-Fi, Bravo, etc.—can insert TiVo "tags" that'll pop up an icon for viewers to click on to get more product info. And make sure you see what's being hawked, even if you skip commercials.
The ratings end is a bit more boring: NBC's tapping into TiVo's second-by-second ratings service to see what viewers are watching, pausing and skipping, making them the first major broadcaster to do so. It might be more interesting if we knew of something new they're going to do with the data, but odds are they just want it for selling ads. [Reuters]
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
Xanthan
Posted 1:39 PM 27/11/07
Yeah, I paid for the boxes, and I pay subscription fees on 3 Tivos. Now they want to force feed me nagging popup ads as if I were using a nagware peice of software.
They want to do these ads fine but let viewers choose, free tivo with popup ads or paid tivo with no ads. I feel Tivo will hear a backlash about this.
Xanthan
omg-ponies
Posted 1:29 PM 27/11/07
Why would any broadcaster want ratings accurate down to the second? All that added accuracy means that they'll then ultimately have to justify ad rates.
Crudeness in ratings allows for a greater flow of bullshit.
omg-ponies
FubarGuy
Posted 1:27 PM 27/11/07
@Derrick: You haven't seen the ones where fast-forward makes that ad HUGE yet I guess. I ran into one the other week, and it made me weep like an old woman.
As long as the 30-second skip code remains, I'm fine though.
FubarGuy
EricRoberts
Posted 1:09 PM 27/11/07
I paid $300 for the hardware - check. I get fed ads through the service - check. I pay $12 per month - ??
EricRoberts
swervie
Posted 12:57 PM 27/11/07
Good for NBC and Tivo. Tivo is by far the best DVR as far as features, UI and usefulness are concerned. Tivo as a company needs more revenue streams to ensure it doesn't dry up and lose out to the crappy Dish Network DVRs out there.
swervie
Kaiser-Machead
Posted 12:21 PM 27/11/07
Good job NBC, forever shall your ineptitude be imprinted forever upon the minds of the viewers. Dumbasses
Kaiser-Machead
Monty
Posted 12:19 PM 27/11/07
Right, why think of a new revenue stream when we can continue to shove advertisements in front of people that are paying money to avoid advertisements. Makes perfect sense. It sounds like this is less annoying than sitting through a commercial, but one would think NBC & Co would get a clue and move on to another way to create revenue.
Monty
Derrick
Posted 11:48 AM 27/11/07
I think my Tivo kind of does this now. I get little tabs on the bottom of the screen advertising different programs and products when I open or close a show or the Tivo main screen. It's not too in the way or anything yet so seeing it during fast forwarding a commercial won't be a big deal for me.
Derrick
Empire
Posted 7:39 PM 27/11/07
I'm glad I didn't listen to those people who told me I should get a Tivo because watching TV is so much better without commercials...
Empire
kbarrett
Posted 12:37 PM 28/11/07
MythTV and a Haupage capture card ...
Build your own DVR.
kbarrett