TiVo planning banner ads for when you fast-forward

Congress considering a bill that would make it illegal to fast-forward through commercials on DVDs is already bad enough, but apparently determined to alienate their customers even in the absence of a Federal law, TiVo has quietly been cutting deals with advertisers to put banner ads up on screen when you fast-forward through commercials. Beginning in March when you try and fast-forward through a commercial you'll see a small "billboard"; click the pop up and you'll be automatically entered in a contest or get on a list to be sent more information about the product being advertised (all opt-in, they claim). Then by the end of the year TiVo wants to introduce a new service where'll be able to buy stuff from your couch while watching TV (which is awesome, because there isn't already a way to remotely order stuff from the comfort of your own home). TiVo, if you're looking for the perfect way to drive your customers into the arms of your competitors, you've found it.

[Thanks, Thomas]

[Brian @ Dec 19th 2005 12:07AM]

Seems like Mark Cuban had this idea, too.

Will we ever be able to escape ads? Guess not.

http://www.blogmaverick.com/entry/7673569691391003/

[horsethief @ Dec 19th 2005 12:07AM]

Hey TiVo! Here's a million-dollar idea that I'll give ya free of charge: Partner up with the Internet Movie Database and combine the movie database with the tivo interface. So when I'm watching a movie and I say "Hey there's that guy" I can search the dB for the movie I'm watching, find info on that actor, see other films he's been in, etc etc. (Bob's your uncle and we're back to Kevin Bacon!) I'll leave it to your marketing guys to figure out how to make money, but I'm guessing that a boatload of free ad space on imdb.com would sound appealing.

[Chriz @ Dec 19th 2005 12:07AM]

I wonder how effective that will be if one is using the 30 second skip instead of fast-forwarding.

[Doug Kozlowski @ Dec 19th 2005 12:07AM]

This made me so annoyed that I just donated $200 to the EFF who fights against these kinds of things.

http://www.eff.org ("Donate" link is at the very bottom)

[Brian @ Dec 19th 2005 12:07AM]

[this is a bad idea]

[Jason @ Dec 19th 2005 12:07AM]

Let's see... we slam TiVo for not having a business model, then we slam them for coming up with ideas that could keep them around. Jeez people.

[Artos @ Dec 19th 2005 12:07AM]

What, no Space Balls reference?

And yes, it is ironic to pay for the comfort of not watching commercials, only to have to watch commercials.

[Jered Floyd @ Dec 19th 2005 12:07AM]

> TiVo, if you�re looking for the perfect way to drive
> your customers into the arms of your competitors,
> you�ve found it.

What (mass market) competition would that be?

[Scott @ Dec 19th 2005 12:07AM]

Ahhh ReplayTV, how do I love thee?

[Victor @ Dec 19th 2005 12:07AM]

THe majority of DVRs in use are now supplied by the cable company at a subscription cost and no equipment cost.

[iPod @ Dec 19th 2005 12:07AM]

Then they better give the service away for free. Do want ads on something that we pay montly for.

[zushiba @ Dec 19th 2005 12:07AM]

The only way this will work is if it is a "feature" of a new free version of their service, I refuse to pay for ads to be shoved into my face. I've never had a reason before to hack my Tivo and roll my own service using the free listing services available on the internet but this is as good a reason as any to start looking into such a thing.

[zushiba @ Dec 19th 2005 12:07AM]

The only way this will work is if it is a "feature" of a new free version of their service, I refuse to pay for ads to be shoved into my face. I've never had a reason before to hack my Tivo and roll my own service using the free listing services available on the internet but this is as good a reason as any to start looking into such a thing.

[zushiba @ Dec 19th 2005 12:07AM]

The only way this will work is if it is a "feature" of a new free version of their service, I refuse to pay for ads to be shoved into my face. I've never had a reason before to hack my Tivo and roll my own service using the free listing services available on the internet but this is as good a reason as any to start looking into such a thing.

[Ken @ Dec 19th 2005 12:07AM]

What about those of us who are sick to death of being slapped in the face with an add every time we turn around. Where's the protection from adds?

[j. @ Dec 19th 2005 12:07AM]

Who do you think pays for the programs you are Tivoing? That's right, the companys whose ads you are skipping. It doesn't come from the 12.95 you pay to Tivo every month. What do you think is going to happen when everyone has a dvr that allows them to skip commercials? I'd much prefer a banner ad when I fast forward than a crawl throughout the program advertising the latest erectile disfunction pill.

My friends and I thought about this a few weeks ago and thought it was a great idea for both the advertisers and Tivo, and as a viewers are concerned, it doesn't add or take away from program time. The other idea was to craft an ad that was still recognizable while in fast forward mode (which wouldn't work with 30sec advance).

[Artos @ Dec 19th 2005 12:07AM]

I would have thought that the business model TiVo set up would have thought out the 13 dollars per month subscription fee versus people skipping commercials.

Plus, let's not forget how much in-show adverstising in becoming increasingly common. Ford cars in episodes of 24. Coke in American Idol.


"That's much too early. Prepare to fast-forward!"

[zushiba @ Dec 19th 2005 12:07AM]

Why did the weblogs thing send me 3 confirmation emails causing 3 posts?
Sorry for that :/ didn't mean to.

[Greg @ Dec 19th 2005 12:07AM]

Those of you who have Tivo may know that Tivo already does a version of this and it's not a big deal and I actually like it. GM runs a car commercial and when fast forwarding you see a Tivo logo that says "press thumbs up for additional information"
- You can still Fast Forward if you want.
- You can still skip it if you have the 30 second skip 'feature' turned on.
- If you press thumbs up you can enter a contest, view additional information, and request an information packet or a free DVD.

The only news is that they are changing the "thumbs up logo" into a banner that will probably have the logo of the advertiser and some information. Think of this banner as a part of the commercial.

This is a good thing for Consumers, Advertisers and Tivo. Consumers get added information on products that they are interested in, Advertisers can deliver targeted information to those who are interested. Tivo gets added revenue.

If you aren't interested keep FF'ing and skipping. Same as it ever was.

[Griffon @ Dec 19th 2005 12:07AM]

I wish just once in a while Tivo would wake the heck up and smell the toast burning. THE PEOPLE WHO BUY YOUR HARDWARE AND SERVICE ARE YOUR CUSTOMERS! you have as many wet dreams about getting in bed with the advertisers and networks as you want but it will NEVER happen they hate you and are going put you down hard as soon as they can. Spot driving your paying customers off to other alternatives with this kind of bullshit that they don't want

[Sean @ Dec 19th 2005 12:07AM]

I'm sorry, but I thought one of the selling points to the TiVo was skipping through commercials?

If I pay for a service then I do not want to be bombarded with ads. You want to put ads on my box then I'll require a refund for my monthly service since you're making money off of my viewing pleasure.

[L_Emmerdeur @ Dec 19th 2005 12:07AM]

The problem with banner ads during FF is the slippery slope. Soon you'll have banner ads on constantly, when the next TiVo Sales VP needs to meet an increased revenue target.

Noticed the annoying animations in the corner of your screen on network stations lately? It is no longer just the tiny station logo on the lower right, now it's HUGE animated ads for other shows and even products on the lower left. They take up around 20% of the screen. Insulting.

What happens when you have station logo, network ad and TiVo banner? I'd say around 40% of your screen will be ads and logos. Makes the next episode of Law&Order VERY realistic.

[daniel harvey @ Dec 19th 2005 12:07AM]

I'm just wondering if it's hypocritical of you to slam tivo for this given that you have ads in your rss feeds....

"Weblogs, Inc. RSS feeds brought to you by
iPod�. Meet Bose. Introduce your iPod� to Bose, then listen to the new SoundDock�."

hmmmm... Mr. Pot meet Mr. Kettle?

[ethan malasky @ Dec 19th 2005 12:07AM]

I don't have the 30 second feature enabled. I just fast-forward through the commercials. Strangely, banner ads might actually make it easier for me to detect the boundary between the commercials and the content, reducing the chance that I'll accidently sit through 15 seconds of the last commercial....

[Josh @ Dec 19th 2005 12:07AM]

daniel harvey: "Mr. Pot meet Mr. Kettle?"


Um, the difference is that readers aren't PAYING for Engadget content. It's free because Engadget's parent company charges for advertising.

TiVo customers pay a monthly fee. And TiVo also gets advertising dollars. Some folks consider that "double dipping."

Try to pay attention now.

[Josiah @ Dec 19th 2005 12:07AM]

j wrote:
"Who do you think pays for the programs you are Tivoing? That's right, the companys whose ads you are skipping. It doesn't come from the 12.95 you pay to Tivo every month."

I pay for it. I pay $65 for DirecTV service. That includes a whopping $11 for HBO. I pay for Tivo listings too on each Tivo I have. I pay twice here. One can't assume that this will only be limited to network TV. Cable channels are subsidized by cable (and sat) subscribers in their monthly bills. Are those going to have ads too? If not in the first wave, how about the second?

One of the problems with Tivo is that monthly subscribers have no choice what and when to upgrade. This new "feature" will no doubt be forced on all subscribers and sold as an "upgrade". "Look Mr. Jones, now you don't have to get off the off the couch and pick up the phone to buy the Ronco Food Masher 3000! Just hit thumbs up on your Tivo remote and you'll be mashing your whole house by tomorrow afternoon!"

[TivOH-NO! @ Dec 19th 2005 12:07AM]

I frequently use my Tivo to catch up on sports. It's amazing how you can watch a good chunk of a game in fast forward and not miss any of the action, but get through the game in half the time. Now Tivo has taken this away from me with the add taking up the majority of the viewable image. I'm all for them making as much money as they can, but don't FORCE people to stare at adds. Implement them into the screen so we can still watch the show. It's like having a supemodel girlfriend who all of a sudden develops violent irritatable bowl syndrome..What was once perfect is now getting stinky! -(how crude I am!)

Also, I swear that I read somewhere recently about a study that showed that people have a greater retention of commercials when they are fast forwarding through them..Anyone else know of this??

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