Comcast and TiVo want to insert new ads into old TV shows

Now that they're BFF Comcast and TiVo are reportedly working together on a new type of advertising system that will be able to insert new, updated commercials into TV shows that were recorded days or even weeks ago, which means that episode of The Apprentice you're watching from last month could run promos for this week's Saturday Night Live instead of the one from three weeks ago. Not sure if this counts as one of those "advanced advertising capabilities" they were hinting at yesterday, but they're also talking using viewing patterns to specifically target ads at people (TiVo already knows a little something about making recommendations based on the types of shows you watch). Supposedly all this will please two of TiVo's old nemeses, the advertisers and the television networks, because they'll be able to increase the chances of someone watching an ad rather than fast-forwarding through it, but there's no technical reason why TiVo couldn't play hardball and replace one company's ads on Desperate Housewives (or whatever) with those of a competitor. (If it's technically possible to do one type of ad replacement then it's technically possible to do the other.) Not that they'll do it, of course; TiVo has a pretty good track record of doing their damnedest not to piss off the networks (remember it was ReplayTV that got sued, not them).