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ABC, Cox Bar Ad Skipping in Video on Demand

by Anil Gupte
Wednesday, May 9, 2007. 08:35AM
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Well it had to happen - I for one thought it would take longer. But the first skirmish against TiVo has started.

ABC and ESPN, as part of a deal with Cox Communications Inc. to offer hit shows and football games on demand, have asked that Cox disable the fast-forward feature that allows viewers to skip ads. Now, this narrowly applies to the Video-on-demand portion of the menu, and of course Cox is now making their own DVRs, so TiVo is not directly involved, but it is a shot across the bow.

It won't be long before others start demanding the same thing. And if you can't fast forward ads, why buy a TiVo?

But there is a larger question. What if the ads are irrelevant? What if the ads are "baked-in" to the content from weeks earlier? And what if the ads are for products you have no interest in?

Your thoughts?

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Comments

 6 shown
Saturday, May 12, 2007. 09:51PM by Anil Gupte
Or, why not drop TiVo since it has stopped innovating and adopt L3 technologies (currently available on the Wizo - www.wizo.tv, but not in the US). In L3, the ads are relevant because (a) the software learns likes and dislikes (b) consumers who care enough can download their own "ad pool". What could be better than watching ads selected by you or a peer group you have joined? Hallelujah! :-)
Saturday, May 12, 2007. 07:15PM by Cathy W
It happened long ago with DVD's but why don't advertisers think outside the box and do what they have done when TV first came out and make the ads part of the show? Entertaining ads, hmmm what a thought. Friends~ instead of Stinky Cat have Febbee sing some song about coffee or bleach or how best to prevent stinky cat? These would be solutions to working with TIVO.
Friday, May 11, 2007. 10:56AM by Marc Rapp
This means more people will migrate to their computers. Apple will love this news.
The issue isn't the technology, it's get people to watch the advertising. This 'deal' is meaningless.
Thursday, May 10, 2007. 02:37AM by Olivia McKinsey
There has to be a better mouse trap out there somewhere to work with Tivo instead of against it. The RIAA found out the hard way what happens when you do not embrace technology, but fight it instead. The result? Falling record sales and proliferation of illegal downloads. Do we learn nothing from other's mistakes?
Wednesday, May 9, 2007. 10:07PM by Anil Gupte
Absolutely on the money about more engaging and perhaps more appropriate commercials that people will want to watch. As far as the ad appearing in FF mode, TiVo tried that, but I believe it was not very successful. One problem was the "30-second skip" button which allowed you to skip ahead by 30 seconds without fastforwarding. And even while skipping only three-four commercials there was not enough time to play any ads.
Wednesday, May 9, 2007. 09:40AM by Olivia McKinsey
Instead of fighting it, these industries should embrace this technology. Create more engaging commercials that consumers will actually watch (and it's happening). Or, it's not like you skip it completely - you just fast forward. Create an ad that appears "normal" in both high speed as well as regular speed. "Hidden Pictures" on TV.

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