Tivo advertising

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Tivo advertising

CNet has a decent overview of the moves (Showcase and Video-to-Video) that Tivo is making to begin to serve more targeted ads to it's 1.3 million users.

Known as Video-to-Video, the idea is to let viewers click a button on their remote control to immediately watch a 3-minute video describing products and services that might appeal to them. The marketing clips are promoted through small icons that appear on the TV screen as viewers fast-forward past regular ads.

The article goes on to talk about "telescoping" which is a new term to me. Does "telescoping" have anything to do with interactive television? I'm inherently skeptical because so much has been hoped for (remember TELE-TV?) and so little has materialized.

TiVo is helping to pioneer a futuristic vision of TV-watching that will let people access whatever information or video they want, whenever they want and for however long--without missing a beat. The long-term vision for TV advertising invokes a concept known as "telescoping," in which the lines between advertising and programming may blur beyond recognition.

For example, if a viewer is watching "The Apprentice" and likes the new BMW a young executive is driving, he could click on the car with the remote to get an informational video on the car and schedule a test drive with a dealer. He could then go back to watching the show at the exact point where he left off.

As long as Tivo is working on creating targeted ads, perhaps based on what you have recorded, I might stop to watch one. As it is right now, the vast majority of TV advertising means nothing to me and I would skip whatever I could when using a PVR.

If we end up with a future such as is described, maybe we will wistfully long for the 20th century, and relatively well-defined lines between advertising and content.

TiVo looks to tune in to advertisers [news.com.com]
UPDATE
Slashdot commentary on Tivo advertising is here:
Slashdot | Tivo Plans Commercials On Demand [slashdot.org]

by Gen Kanai March 23, 2004 in TiVo

Comments

This is precisely the reason why I sold off my TiVo. TiVo considers their real clients to be advertisers, they are setting themselves up for major conflicts of interest with end-users.

Posted by: Fazal Majid at Mar 23, 2004 11:25:46 PM

I agree. I skip ANY advertising that I can. But with targeted advertising, I might stop to watch it. It has happened to me with Google ads, so it could possibly happen on a tv.

Posted by: Scott Johnson at Mar 24, 2004 12:07:03 AM

Well, at $8 a share and dropping, TiVo needs to start making money and their business model to this point has not done helped them create a positive balance sheet.

Posted by: Kesey at Mar 24, 2004 5:28:58 AM

I think advertising seems to have proven it's here to stay. Most people don't seem to mind relatively unobtrusive advertising in exchange for getting discounted products/content. Heck, how many people subscribe to the Sunday paper BECAUSE of the circulars and other ads?

I think the question is whether Tivo can get the non-obtrusive part right. AOL upset a lot of customers a couple of years ago, and they didn't have the same level of competition Tivo has with cable companies and satellite dish networks bundling PVRs into their new boxes.

Posted by: Jason Shao at Mar 24, 2004 9:40:53 PM

I am a 25 year old male and I hate watching footfungus commercials. Actually I hate 95% of all commercials. The Tivo sounds great because I can skip all of them. The telescoping idea sounds way too complicated and completely unrealistic to me.

Posted by: Paul Waters at Sep 21, 2005 8:51:18 AM

My question to all of you is, then, how do you find out about new products other than advertisements? How do you expect these companies to draw you in to try their product? (By the way, if you say "I hear about new products from my friends," then I want to know how THEY hear about new products.) I am not asking this as a sarcastic question - I am a graduate business student and I find this intriguing. How can companies reach consumers that are so opposed to advertising? (BTW, I totally agree about the foot fungus commercials. There are some products that only your doctor should tell you about.)

Thanks.

Posted by: Lisa at Oct 28, 2005 4:32:13 PM

Tivo advertising

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