BSkyB patents ad skipping for digital video recorders

Apparently BSkyB, which operates the Sky satellite TV service which is popular in the UK and elsewhere, has obtained a patent for using a digital video recorder to automatically skip over commercials when recording a TV show. We won't get into the whole deal about how ReplayTV already had something similar years ago, mainly because what's really interesting is the prospect, however slim, that they might actually introduce this as a feature on Sky Plus, the digital video recorder they offer to subscribers. The idea is that they'd maybe do it in order to attract new customers to the service.  Obviously the channels they carry might not exactly be pleased, but Sky itself only gets about 10% of its revenue from advertising and so has little to lose themselves if ad skipping catches on. It's hard to imagine anyone being ballsy enough to actually piss off an entire industry like this, but BSkyB is controlled by Rupert Murdoch (who also controls DirecTV), and if anyone has the hubris to take them on it's him. Though that said, Sky has made it clear that they have no plans to add automatic ad skipping to their DVRs, at least for now, and would only be interested in licensing the technlogy to others.

[Via TechDirt]

[Mike Liveright @ Dec 19th 2005 12:09AM]

IF TRUE ... One wonders if this is a defensive copyright in that it allows the owner to prevent others from using the technology and allows them to use this as a way to prevent others from doing similar things.

So perhaps this will be used not to allow skipping of commercials, but as an added legal way to prevent others from commercial elimination.

[Ben @ Dec 19th 2005 12:09AM]

Surely the reason why they've done this is to STOP other's from doing it..?

Sky can say "Arhhh, Mr Generic Box Maker from Taiwan, you can't add advert skipping to your new DTT/HDD box because we've already patented it!"

10% advert revenue to Sky is indeed slight for Mr Murdoch. However, his Sky Digital proposition is about a large number of channels (albeit of crap quality), and those channels will fade away if their precious advertising revenue is threatened.

[Recoil @ Dec 19th 2005 12:09AM]

To me it sounds like a ploy to block other forms of ad skipping, if they control the patent on it then they dictate wether the service will be available at all.

[Oliver in Seattle @ Dec 19th 2005 12:09AM]

Or maybe _not_ license the technology.... What would it be worth to ABC, NBC, CBS, etc to not have this technology available? Sounds like a perfect backroom deal to stifle ad skipping technology in future devices.

[Woolly Mittens @ Dec 19th 2005 12:09AM]

It seems possible to me, that they just want to stop others from using the idea of skipping ads. They don't have to use the patented idea themselves, to stop others from coming up with the same thing.

[Mark Kawakami @ Dec 19th 2005 12:09AM]

That's what I thought too. A pre-emptive patent to ensure that ad-skipping makes no inroads into the UK could be conceivably more in their interests than actually implementing the technology. This will cut out competitors that plan on offering ad-skipping themselves.

[RoyalH @ Dec 19th 2005 12:09AM]

Read the article. It sounds like this BSkyB system does not record the ads while recording the original broadcast, thus saving (negligable?) disk space and preventing the need for any intervention during playback. I don't think any DVRs are capable of performing this type of selective live recording; they record the entire block and allow you to skip after the fact (please correct me if I'm wrong). The closest you can get is software like MythTV, which allows you to edit out portions of the show after it has been recorded.

[Tim Farley @ Dec 19th 2005 12:09AM]

Yes, ReplayTV had this several years ago. They actually didn't invent the technology themselves, the licensed it from Arthur D. Little, Inc. It is the same technology used in some VCRs. It is patented here in the United States, U.S. Patent number 5,333,091 (dating from all the way back in 1994). (Click my name for a link to the patent).

There are a number of other patents by Intel, Philips, Sanyo, SRT and others on similar technology, such as 6,771,316; 6,714,594; 6,597,405; 6,483,987; 6,002,443; 5,999,689; 5,987,210; 5,911,029; 5,696,866 and 5,692,093.

Of course, BSkyB could have discovered an entirely different method of detecting commercials. (Seems unlikely).

[Jam @ Dec 19th 2005 12:09AM]

I have one of these (Amstrad Version 2 box same as one pictured just with a few buttons moved around and the card slot on the right)

And for a Second there, I thought this was about them locking it down so we would have to watch ads *PHEW* I bet they will offer some extra box with this function that costs even more per month then the normal boxs its the sort of thing they would do :(

[Richard @ Dec 19th 2005 12:09AM]

Whats to say they dont just have the box not record the broadcasted adverts, but insert ones based on demographic data when you are playing back and prevent you from FFing them? That way all the younger people get shoe and clothes and cellphone ads, middle aged people get ads for convertables and strand-by-strand hair replacemtn, and old people get zimmerframe and incontinance pad ads?