ImMEDIAte Needs:
Days of commercial free DVR viewing may be numbered….
So you DVR your favorite shows to avoid commercials. Your days of freedom from commercials
may be numbered.
And that might be good news for your favorite shows.
Comcast has just applied for a patent for an invention that
would allow advertisers to post ads on your DVR programming when you try to
avoid advertising by fast forwarding.
The technology would even allow advertisers to target you specifically
based on your viewing habits. (So,
if you watch more public television are you sending a message that you will do
anything to avoid commercials?)
Monetizing the DVR may actually save your favorite
shows. During the recent National
Association of Broadcasting convention I spoke to a person from Fox Television. I mentioned to her that I hope she can
save “Fringe.”
She said that while ratings for “Fringe” were dismal, the
number of DVR views was impressive. Well, “Fringe” will come back for thirteen
episodes this Fall. And many of
its viewers will apparently watch the show via DVR. Perhaps if those DVR viewers had to watch some advertising,
the viewers might be rewarded by getting more than a half-season
commitment.
Yes, watching commercials is the punishment we endure for
enjoying our favorite shows. Yes, we avoid that punishment by using our DVR
option. If we endure a little
punishment with our DVR viewing, we might be able to save our favorite shows.
And maybe not running “Fringe” on Friday night might
increase live viewership?
Update: DISH
network has announced a system that allows viewers to automatically skip
commercials while watching programs on DVR. Fox, NBC and CBS all filed suit to stop the roll out two
weeks ago of Auto Hop, the new service from the satellite provider.
This Memorial Day weekend, a commentator on the NPR program
“On The Media” predicted the end of broadcast television by 2020. Are we seeing the beginning of that
end?
For comments or to see some past columns, please go to:
http://immediateneeds-now.blogspot.com
sources:
Maria,
ReplyDeleteI am on your side as no doubt all viewers are. A lot of people are
afraid that without revenue from commercials
the networks will not be able to afford the rising costs of
production. Networks are afraid that advertisers will not be willing
to fork over the 4 million dollars for a 30 second ad on the upcoming
Super Bowl if many viewers are skipping commercials.
There has to be a compromise. Maybe cutting back commercials to about
6-12 minutes per hour and charge the advertiser more. It's worth it
to the advertiser if the viewer, knowing it's only a short break,
stays in their chairs and endures a couple ads. The way things are,
knowing the commercial break is 3-4 minutes long, I meander over to
Weather Channel.
Good luck with the petition. The Auto-Hop thing will end up in court.
The Supreme Court already dealt with a similar issue when program
producer Universal Studios sued Sony over the then new fangled beta
tape video tape recorders. Sony won. A bit of history that's good
news for DISH.
Thanks for reading,
Rick
ImMEDIAte Needs