No one likes advertisements. But the fact is that they are a part of our society and will continue to annoy. TiVo was previously a walled garden from ads, but they have slowly crept in over the last couple of years. Now, there are ads scattered throughout the system. But are they really that bad?
I asked my wife who uses our TiVo the majority of the time and she didn’t even know there where ads. I had to show her and eventually she remembered them, but they don’t annoy her at all. I believe TiVo has found a way to place ads in the system that net the company revenue, but doesn’t really bother the consumer.
Before the ads invaded, TiVo was a haven from advertisements. A person just had to pay the monthly fee – or lifetime payment – and you could skip ads almost entirely thanks to the magic of timeshifting. Fast forward to today though. Now, ads are on the main screen, within the Music, Photos, and Showcases menu, occasionally during fast forwarding, and on random commercials. That’s a lot, and even more than Comcast’s DVR system.
The placement of these ads however is such that they don’t really distract from the DVR’s main intent. The main menu ad is at the very bottom of the screen. The Music, Photos & Showcases have offers throughout, but you don’t have to click on ‘em. The fast-forwarding pop-ups might startle, but are only there for a few seconds. (plus, you can disable them) Only during a few random commercials are there pop-ups ads.
This isn’t an endorsement of advertisements. Oh no, but there is a way to work revenue-earning ads into products that do not annoy the consumer.
Take Comcast’s DVR. There was a time when the guide displayed five stations without any ads. Now, there are only four station’s lineups displayed with the bottom line taken up by a banner ad. The user must select this ad when scrolling down to the next page just like it was another TV station. It, in turn, forces the user to notice said ad, and also get annoyed by its presence. The placement might earn more revenue by higher click-through rates, but they are also poorly designed and detested by some. (me)
I don’t know if TiVo has lost its way as Dave Zatz suggests. I do know that the company has rolled out smartly designed ads that will hopefully pay for new advances without raising my monthly rate. I, for one, would much rather have an ad on the main menu than see my cost rise. I wouldn’t mind that much if there were a few more ads placed within the system to eliminate the monthly fee entirely. Although it was nice to spend a few weeks with the Moxi HD DVR which doesn’t have any advertisements or monthly fees at all…
It’s not a question of whether or not they are discreetly placed. I have paid TiVo an enormous amount of money on subscriptions on four different TiVos since 1999. I pay monthly/lifetime subscriptions to these folks. If they provided the service for free after a TiVo purchase, I would understand the ads. But as a paid subscriber, I don’t want to pay to be advertised to. It’s that simple.
…Dale
I couldn’t disagree more! We have two TiVo’s and the ads are so annoying we’re considering getting rid of them. We paid TiVo a great deal of money for the boxes and subscriptions, only to have the company go back on it’s word and bombard us with ads at every turn. TiVo used to be a consumer product company – now the new CEO fancies himself a broadcaster. Shame on TiVo! Fortunately, better options are just around the corner.
I don’t understand why you say you couldn’t disagree more because it sounds like you are agreeing with me 100%.
That’s it, let’s all report that the ads aren’t making an impact, so the advertisers will tell TIVO to make them more obvious or loose the revenue.
When I first noticed them, I thought it was a little annoying. They don’t really get in the way of anything, but they don’t advertise anything I seem to be interested in anyway.
I can see both sides of it. If having these advertisements around means that I can still fast forward commercials, then I love them. Really, I think they should make them so when you’re FFwding through a commercial for say, ice cream, the little box at the bottom is a blurb about the ice cream. I’ll read it as I zip through the long version. That way the guys paying for the commercial get what they want (an ad of some type) and I get what I want (noise free tv, and control).
Yeah, they’re not that annoying NOW, but what if this is just the sharp end of the wedge?
It’s a great strategy, really. Start out with innocuous ads that are barely noticed and gradually turn up the size, duration, and intensity until… oh… look, it’s just like network television with 55 minutes of ads per hour! Plus, I’m paying for a subscription!
Brilliant!
I have been amazed from day one the lack of scrutiny over TIVOs business model. People actually PAY to have TIVO spy on them. The main reason TIVO phones home each night is to report your viewing habits (and to get show schedules). They then sell this info.
With all of these income streams; unit sales (I can buy a PC for what they cost), monthly subscriptions, and viewer profiling sales I am also amazed they only recently reported a profit. Now with ad sales this is a company I want to invest in. Consumers are such suckers.
You can’t be serious.
I knew I’d never buy a Tivo once they threw that boondoggle out. Let me get this straight. You want “me” to pay you $155 dollars a year for guide data that you infuse with paid advertising?
I think you need your cranium examined. Folks this is your hard earned money going into Tivo.
I’m sorry but there are just other options available now that I can leverage for free (Hulu) or download (iTunes) without the annoying adds.
Don’t be the personification of PT Barnum’s famous quote. Get some chutzpah and stop getting kicked around like this.
I pay for cable TV and XM Radio, but that doesn’t stop the ads from appearing on those.
At least these are not intrusive.
I’ll switch when there is an alternative, but Tivo is still the best.
I agree – just because you pay doesn’t mean you are supporting the FULL cost of your share of the service.
I’m fine with ads. I read magazines and newspapers that I pay for (OK – just the Sunday paper these days, but it’s chock full of ads). I understand that to get an ad-free New York Times would cost a fortune, and I’d be unwilling to pay it.
Now if you want to get me started on ads, let’s talk about billboards. There, there is no upside. I get no content in return – it’s just an ad. Even on a bus shelter, you get shelter.
I’m always amazed at the people that balk about paying for TiVo service. It IS a service, people… one made possible by the continuous work behind the scenes to aggregate TV listings, keep up with lineup changes, continually improve the software, add new features, etc. The fact that TiVo Inc. is constantly operating in the red despite all of their income from subscriptions and hardware sales, ads, licensing deals, etc. is a testament to the value of the product. I think last year was the first time they actually posted a profit, and they just posted a >$4m loss for Q1 this year! If they need to display some text on my screen when I pause a recording or go to the main menu in order to stay in business, then I’m all for it.
TV guide does it for free. And bravo to their tax people. Pay much less taxes to the IRS.
I don’t have Tivo but I’ve considered getting it for a few years. I’ve been suffering through the Comcast/Time Warner Cable DVR boxes (shown above) for three years now and I’m sick of them. One thing I can’t stand about these boxes are the advertisements. Now that I know Tivo also had advertisements I’m almost certain I won’t get it. If I’m going to go through the extra trouble of having Tivo and pay for the expensive box then I expect not to have ads.
Now, I would gladly accept the advertisements if the Tivo box was free (if the ads paid for the box.) At the very least, Tivo should offer an advertisement free option where a customer could pay a little extra a month not to have the ads.
Hmmmm… a writer whose page has advertisements all over not really upset about ads being added to Tivo what a surprise. Let me count there are two Tivo add on the page for goodness sake, like he’s really going to go on a rant against them? No one seemed to notice the last line the editor must of missed about Moxi? Ad free and no subscription?