TiVo users who like to skip ads can still do so but those who see commercials as more than a nuisance could be able to use their TiVo to search for relevant ads starting this spring, according to the Journal. TiVo is working with Comcast, the Richards Group in Dallas, and three major media-buying firms — Interpublic Media, OMD and Starcom MediaVest Group — to move ads from randomly slotted (or skipped) items to targeted towards a user’s interests. Users who want to participate would build a profile; the ads would be delivered via Internet or dial-up to show up with the listsings of recorded shows. At TiVo, Davina Kent, VP-national ad sales, says the “Google model” of keyword bidding is being considered.
As described, it sounds like TiVo users could wind up being exposed to a double dose of ads — the ones they skip through and the ones that may interest them. Seems like one big hurdle could be avoiding ad fatigue.
Meanwhile, “>David Wilkerson looks at TiVo’s recent announcement that TiVoToGo is expanding to iPods and PSPs and asks if the video pioneer is moving too hastily to save its future. “What is TiVo’s bigger interest? Is it to be a friend to the content world, or to say to the content owners, we’re going to do anything — as long as it’s not illegal — to generate a strong consumer business?”
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