TiVo to Sell Your Fast-Forward Button

Thomas Hawk writes "PVRblog is reporting today that TiVo will begin to place banner advertisements on your screen when you are fast forwarding. As one of the whole points for people getting a TiVo is to remove obtrusive advertising, it seems like a really bad move to force advertising on people at the exact moment that they are using your technology to avoid advertising. This act points to the desperation of TiVo and their management team and although it might help them in the short run it will most certainly backfire in the long run." This is ironic for a company whose slogan used to be "TV Your Way," but not surprising, since its CEO says he wants to move to a largely advertiser-supported revenue stream. I've bought three TiVos in the past four years, but my next PVR will run MythTV -- unless HR2391 passes and makes me a criminal for skipping commercials.

This is really going to ruin the spice channel

[Anonymous Coward]

Suffering Viagra ads while I'm skipping to the money shot.

So Ridiculous

[blackmonday]

Next announcement: It will be a criminal act to get up and take a leak while the commercials are on.

Re:This is really going to ruin the spice channel

[mrchaotica]

It'd be stupid to advertise Viagra to you anyway, since if you're fast-forwarding through porn you must have the opposite problem...

Re:Questions

[micromoog]

Sir, I want to buy your "Inagadadavida" ad-blocking system.

Re:I dont think its such a bad idea

[Shakrai]

How many cable companies have to pay for Food Network, or Spike TV? Not many, I'd say. If those channels weren't available, most people wouldn't have a problem with it.

You can have my Emeril and ST:TNG reruns when you pry them from my cold dead hands!

Re:Agreed

[Todd Fisher]

Perhaps we should adopt a wait-and-see approach before we break out the torches and pitchforks.

Let me be the first to welcome you to Slashdot.

Re:How do you separate the two?

[telstar]

"I defy you to deliver channels to me *without* the content."

• Turn on UPN or the WB any day of the week...

Re:Agreed

[Arhat]

Perhaps we should adopt a wait-and-see approach before we break out the torches and pitchforks.

Annoyed at changes in policy with your TiVo service. We here at the Torches and Pitchforks, Inc understand your pain, that's why right now we are offering a torch and pitchfork combo deal for only $19.95. That's right, $19.95 for two must have mob items. Act in the next 15 minutes and receive a free noose. Don't wait, these items are going fast.

Skipping the commercials

[wbtittle]

This just in: "A new bill being lobby for in congress will make it illegal for you to leave your television off." Providers of entertainment, in desperate need of more money intend to enable police officers to detain you for not watching television.

This sounds ridiculous...

[Anonymous Coward]

I remember an old Loony Tunes cartoon episode where Daffy Duck is a salesman to convert your house to a push button house and he was trying to sell it Porky Pig. There a button on the panel your not supposed to touch that was red but Porky Pig being curious pushed it and the whole house lifted to about 100 feet into the air and Daffy Duck wanted to sell Porky Pig a blue button to get the house down.
Cartoons are humorous and sometime ridiculous but nowadays that are becoming reality and that is the problem.

Re:Questions

[rmarll]

Totally off topic...

Funny that in blocking the ad's for "internet accelerator" I've accelerated my connection speed far more than their product ever will.

Door Number 2

[Anonymous Coward]

"If this isn't IP theft, I don't know what is."

I would judge the 2nd part of this statement to be the case.

What I want

[wrook]

You know, executives are crazy. Why force people to watch something when you already *know* they will watch it if you give them access to it voluntarily?

For example, commercials... Anyone ever heard of the endless commercial channel known as "The Shopping Channel"? Crap, I'm paying to get this thing in my cable setup. There are people who have this abomination hard wired into their TV so that they don't have to be subjected to any actual content in their viewing pleasure.

Here's what I want from a PVR: When the commercials are coming up, instead of skipping them, give me a menu of all the commercials and allow me to choose to watch one if I want. Also give me a an option *not* to watch any. Give me the option to ban specific ads (for content inappropriate to my family) on my PVR too. Finally, give me a list of all the ads associated with a show and allow me to save the ads separately (in case it's a particularly good one and I want to show my friends).

Let's face it. Some people don't want to see any ads. Showing them ads will just piss them off and make them *less* likely to buy your product. The *vast majority* of people actually want to see some ads and would choose to watch them at least once or twice if given the option.

I don't see the point in forcing people to view an ad for a product that they don't want. In some cases (McCain's!!!!!) the ads themselves are so bad that some people (I won't mention any names) boycott the product just because of the ad.