TiVo to sell data....What took them so long?

[mcscajun]

Saw this on Salon.com:
TiVo has announced it's going to start selling the second-by-second watching habits of users to an audience measurement firm. (Ad Age)

And followed the link to Ad Age:
http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=111572

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- After nine years on the market, TiVo is serious about courting advertisers. Today the company confirmed it has signed a second major ad holding company to a deal that includes research and experimentation with new interactive ad models.

Today, TiVo announced it struck a deal with Omnicom Media Group, which houses media shops OMD and PHD, in which it will purchase TiVo's second-by-second-audience-measurement research and fund a separate engagement study that uses TiVo's DVR behavioral data. Omnicom clients advertising on TiVo will also receive economies of scale on pricing, said Omnicom Media Group CEO Daryl Simm in a statement.
Omnicom Media Group joins IPG Media as TiVo partners. Tivo is working hard to transform itself from merely a hardware brand into a more diversified software company.

More at link.

[high density]

1. Why pay $20 a month for that BS?

http://www.mythtv.org

[Occulus]

2. Yep

Get a TV card for your PC, one that sells with grid guide software.

Voila! You just got a 'Tivo'... and for a one-time fee.

(In fact, it's actually better than Tivo, because you have the file to mess with.)

[mcscajun]

3. I certainly don't.

And there's one more reason not to.

[sendero]

4. I love my TIVO..

... and as long as the data is sold without identifying me personally, I could care less.

They can study until their eyes bleed - I watch very little live TV and hence very few commercials. TIVO makes it easy to FF through commercials (with little helpers like backing up a certain amount (depending on FF speed) when you stop FFing to account for reaction time.

Frankly, it's one of the best $13 a month I spend on entertainment.

And the MythTv thing - sure, I want to spend $500+ for a dedicated pc to do this, and spend countless hours piddling with yet another computer, the household already has 6. Not.

[lies and propaganda]

5. exactly! let them see that i zip through every commmercial.

as long as my personal info isnt being shared,, and yes it is a slippery slope.

But i like the fact of afdvertisers knowing that I dont watch shows until a half hour into them just so i can bypass their ads. It makes me giggle.

[mcscajun]

6. I agree, I'm not dedicating a PC to TV, and I'm sure as hell

not buying a TV card for my existing PC and then learning some new software just to record TV.

My VCR still works. :)

[high density]

8. So you already have six computers, but the thought of one more

or converting an existing one to Linux is too scary or expensive?

Right now it costs $20/mo (1 year of service, paid monthly) for TiVo guide data, and that's just crazy in my opinion. After two years the $500 Linux box has paid for itself, not to mention that you can do more with it than just watch and record TV. (Plus it will mark those pesky commercials for ya for easy skipping!) If you want to record two channels at once, you're only a $70 capture card away from doing so.

[sendero]

9. I have two computers..

... my wife and 3 kids each have one. Believe me, I get tired of being the in-house tech.

I don't know why you are paying $20, I pay $13. :)

[me b zola]

7. I always assumed that they did

We have Dish with the DVR. I had always assumed that they collected viewing habit data. I don't like the idea, but it seems that there is no privacy left anywhere in the US.