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ARTelevision · 06-02-2003, 10:39 AM

In order to improve the processes of programming us and micro-managing our behavior, TiVo has incorporated some effective tracking technology into our entertainment centers. Read all (well, as much as they are telling us, anyway) about it...

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TiVo to Sell Reports on Users' TV Viewing Habits

NEW YORK (Reuters) - TiVo (news - web sites) Inc., a maker of television-recording devices, on Monday unveiled a TV audience measuring system that allows it to report the second-by-second viewing habits of its subscribers to advertisers and network programmers.

The system represents a potential new revenue stream for the maker of digital video recorders (DVR), which is trying to transform itself into a media services company and seeking other ways of making money beyond the monthly subscriber fees it collects.

The new service, which will produce a quarterly viewing report, would track a sample of TiVo's more than 700,000 users, whose DVRs allow them to record more than 40 hours of shows, pause live TV, instantly replay favorite scenes or fast-forward through commercials.

The report would, for example, tell advertisers which commercials audiences watched in their entirety during an episode of the comedy "Friends." It can also inform "Friends" creators that viewers changed the channel when a particular character entered the scene.

"With the Olympics -- as a reporter gives a heartwarming story about an athlete, TiVo tracks second-to-second what is causing viewers to stay tuned or what is causing them to flip over to something else," said Martin Yudkovitz, president of TiVo.

He noted that TiVo does not intend to compete with rival Nielsen Media Research, the ubiquitous voice in the television industry for tracking audience viewership. Instead, TiVo stresses that its service could perhaps be a companion to Nielsen data that advertisers and networks use to make decisions about programming.

Yudkovitz, a veteran of General Electric Co.'s NBC who was brought on in April to spur TiVo's media drive, added that TiVo has not signed any major clients. But he said it is confident that in a business where shifts in audience trends can sway millions in ad dollars, customers will find the data compelling.

TiVo allows its users to decline the monitoring of their viewing habits, but a spokesman said that most do not. The company has targeted total subscribers of 1 million by early 2004, which would give it a robust sample of technology-savvy and better-than-average income TV watchers.
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I thought this part was good:
"TiVo allows its users to decline the monitoring of their viewing habits, but a spokesman said that most do not."

It's really comforting to know we are so secure and sure of our rock-solid resistance to silly things like the increasing power of targeted advertising and such not to bother turning off thought-control settings when they are put in front of us.

06-02-2003, 10:39 AM	#1 (permalink)
ARTelevision I change Location: USA	Your TV is watching you! In order to improve the processes of programming us and micro-managing our behavior, TiVo has incorporated some effective tracking technology into our entertainment centers. Read all (well, as much as they are telling us, anyway) about it... ................... TiVo to Sell Reports on Users' TV Viewing Habits NEW YORK (Reuters) - TiVo (news - web sites) Inc., a maker of television-recording devices, on Monday unveiled a TV audience measuring system that allows it to report the second-by-second viewing habits of its subscribers to advertisers and network programmers. The system represents a potential new revenue stream for the maker of digital video recorders (DVR), which is trying to transform itself into a media services company and seeking other ways of making money beyond the monthly subscriber fees it collects. The new service, which will produce a quarterly viewing report, would track a sample of TiVo's more than 700,000 users, whose DVRs allow them to record more than 40 hours of shows, pause live TV, instantly replay favorite scenes or fast-forward through commercials. The report would, for example, tell advertisers which commercials audiences watched in their entirety during an episode of the comedy "Friends." It can also inform "Friends" creators that viewers changed the channel when a particular character entered the scene. "With the Olympics -- as a reporter gives a heartwarming story about an athlete, TiVo tracks second-to-second what is causing viewers to stay tuned or what is causing them to flip over to something else," said Martin Yudkovitz, president of TiVo. He noted that TiVo does not intend to compete with rival Nielsen Media Research, the ubiquitous voice in the television industry for tracking audience viewership. Instead, TiVo stresses that its service could perhaps be a companion to Nielsen data that advertisers and networks use to make decisions about programming. Yudkovitz, a veteran of General Electric Co.'s NBC who was brought on in April to spur TiVo's media drive, added that TiVo has not signed any major clients. But he said it is confident that in a business where shifts in audience trends can sway millions in ad dollars, customers will find the data compelling. TiVo allows its users to decline the monitoring of their viewing habits, but a spokesman said that most do not. The company has targeted total subscribers of 1 million by early 2004, which would give it a robust sample of technology-savvy and better-than-average income TV watchers. ................ I thought this part was good: "TiVo allows its users to decline the monitoring of their viewing habits, but a spokesman said that most do not." It's really comforting to know we are so secure and sure of our rock-solid resistance to silly things like the increasing power of targeted advertising and such not to bother turning off thought-control settings when they are put in front of us. __________________ create evolution