The fast-growing practice of fast-forwarding past commercials on DVRs prompted NBC Universal to partner with TiVo.
The television industry concern about consumers using DVRs to skip past commercials has apparently reached the upper floors of network management. Mike Pilot, president of NBC Universal (NBCU) Sales and Marketing, expressed that concern in announcing the network’s new agreement with TiVo:
"This partnership allows us to provide clients with products and solutions to help them analyze, understand and adapt to the new ways consumers are watching television."
Referring to "proliferating media options and changing consumer behavior," he said "our clients are asking for new ideas, better metrics, and more accountability."
Pilot said that just a year earlier NBCU was not concerned about recorded viewing.
"A year ago, we wouldn't even have had that (TiVo) conversation. But with the currency conversation in the industry, and being paid in who's watching the commercials, we no longer had a disincentive for time-shifted viewing," he told Reuters.
Tom Rogers, President and CEO, called the agreement with NBCU "a watershed moment for advertisers, broadcast and cable television and TiVo.
"We have been working tirelessly to help the media industry better understand and solve the significant strategic challenges they face in the age of the DVR," he added in the NBCU/TiVo joint announcement.
