NBC, Turner downplay effect of TiVo

TelevisionWeek reports that a VP at Turner recently remarked how he wasn't afraid of changing business models due to widespread TiVo use. Apparently the impact to their bottom line has actually been positive in the wake of increased PVR use.

That's because TiVo has increased viewership of the Turner networks, he said. "Right now we don't have any big guns aimed at the TiVo world. We think it's been slightly positive because it increases viewership," he said. Mr. Chandler added that Turner expects the coming cable upfront to be positive for Turner.

Pretty surprising news coming from the company that once thought fast-fowarding a commercial or going to the bathroom during breaks was akin to stealing from them.

Comments

[Bruce]

Part of the reason why Tivo and PVRs haven't hurt the networks as much yet is that Nielsen avoids households that have DVRs, so the viewing behavior of PVR owners behavior isn't reflected in their ratings. I was selected to be a Nielsen household earlier this year and passed all of their prequalifications. When they came to my house, the installer found that I had PVRs (SA Explorers from Time Warner), called his supervisor, and told me that because Nielsen couldn't adequately monitor PVRs, they wouldn't be able to use my household in their ratings sample. My conclusion is that the Nielsen households are comprised of Luddites who have not yet joined the PVR generation. On the other hand, when a lousy show gets good ratings, I can always proudly proclaim, "Don't blame me; I have a PVR!" :)

[Gen Kanai]

Bruce, thank you so much for sharing that insight. I doubt that many of us knew that Nielsen was actively avoiding households with PVRs. It's an interesting insight that they don't have a system to monitor PVR usage yet... they'll need one very soon.

[MegaZone]

Nielsen has a deal with TiVo to use TiVos to gather data - but I don't know if they've rolled it out yet. It is supposed to be opt-in for TiVo owners but I haven't heard anything about signing up.