MediaPost has an article up (you have to sign up...it's free) about the increasingly complicated relationship between Tivo and television advertisers. In a talk with advertisers last week, Tivo CEO Tom Rogers talked about how advertisers could avoid ad-skipping by consumers. This is funny, because Rogers company is based completely off of that one feature. People get Tivo to skip ads. Okay, that may be a little cynical. Consumers also purchase Tivo so they can record their favorite shows. The skipping of ads is viewed as a perk. However, for me, skipping commercials is absolutely my favorite aspect of DVR and I'm sure this is true for millions of others. Watching an hour-long drama becomes a 42 minute affair instead of an often excruciating, commercial-laden 60 minute one.
Rogers plea, however, was both logical and true: he says that Tivo and DVR are here and here to stay, so advertisers have no choice but to look for alternative avenues to get their ads to the people. The major idea put forth is to "stamp" advertisements at the end of Tivo recordings. This would allow a company to buy on a per show basis. If Budweiser thinks the audience of The Office is a group they want to sell their product to, they can place an ad that will appear after every Tivo recording of The Office. Burger King and Mastercard have already signed up for this system. We're bound to see more blatant product placement on TV shows themselves, which is fine by me. For all the flak that product placement receives, it's rarely noticeable and always inconsequential. As always, advertisers will find a way. The greatest consequence of the DVR revolution is that, with advertising revenue for shows on an increasingly downward trend, networks are forced to create better programming. Why? DVD sales. The better a television show is, the more DVD sales that show will receive. Not only that, the TV shows must have more depth and be primed for multiple viewings to be successful in the DVD format. Anything that gets the networks away from superficial ratings-based programming is a good thing, believe me. Let me explain. A show like, say, Fear Factor, may garner good ratings based on the "shock" factor. However, Fear Factor is a show that viewers watch mindlessly. Not many people are going to buy a Fear Factor DVD. DVDs have changed the whole landscape of television, and for the better. The rise of DVR and Tivo is only expediting its importance. -Oscar Dahl, BuddyTV Senior Writer