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Shocking Poll About DVR Users!!!!!ONE!!111!
Link
LONDON (Reuters) - TV advertisers are facing a potential disaster as more consumers buy digital video recorders (DVRs), according to a new study, since about 90 percent of current users fast-forward through ads. The trends are even more foreboding among the 18 to 34-year-old demographic most coveted by marketers, with 97 percent saying they skip ads all or almost all of the time. "This has always been advertisers' biggest fear," said Sarah Wade, a London-based account manager for the French market research firm Ipsos, which carried out a survey of 4,000 British TV households. A previous study by media buying agency PHD found that viewers fast-forwarded through about 77 percent of ads. DVRs, offered by companies like Britain's BSkyB and U.S.-based TiVo, save many hours of programs to a built-in hard drive, allowing users to pause live TV and fast-forward through advertisements. The technology has yet to break through to the mainstream but it is steadily building a base of enthusiastic users. BSkyB, Britain's top pay-TV company, says about half of new subscribers opt for its Sky+ DVR, and cable companies are beginning to sell DVRs that are built into set-top boxes. Only 6 percent of Britons own a DVR, according to the Ipsos study, but 35 percent of those without are interested in buying one. I'm shocked. I just don't know what to say. Except that I LOVE my DVR. |
...ssssoooo...people DON'T like watching ads when they don't have to.....
Amazing. Glad they did this study. :) |
So up until now, the story would be:
TV advertisers are facing a potential disaster as more consumers buy video cassette recorders (VCRs), according to a new study, since about 90 percent of current users fast-forward through ads. I mean, seriously, its not like skipping commericals is anything new. My VCR even cuts to a blue screen as it auto-fast forwards through commericals. Even before that people would manually skip commericals. I suppose it could be argued that due to the ease of DVRs, people who used to watch a show live will record it, where it was too much work with VCRs. But even then, people who ae really that determined to avoid commericals were already skipping channels with the remote or leaving the room. |
Getting DVR and ditching the VCR was the greatest home entertainment upgrade we did since converting from VHS to DVD. Bar none.
Fast forwarding commericials is just the tip of the iceberg. The HD DVR is DVD quality (if not better on HD shows and channels), and makes for a truly wonderful experience. |
It would be nice if TiVo users had the same 30 second skip feature that Dish Network's DVR has (or even the 60 second version that my Panasonic DVD recorder has). I can skip through 4 minutes of commercials in under 5 seconds. I think this feature should required on all DVRs. Of course, I'm sure advertisers disagree with me. ;)
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Advertisers must hate remote controls, becasue we always used them to turn channels and see what else is on when the commercials come on.
This poll just goes further to substantiate my beliefe those in the media have a bias against all digital mediums. Record a song off a radio with a tape recorder, no problem. Download that same song digitally and suddenly there is a problem. Record your favorite shows to VHS, no problem. Record them on DVD, and suddenly people have a problem. DVD-R and other digial formats are not to blame. Hell, I am not even sure anything is to blame. That's just human nature. Some will watch the ads the advertisers pay for, some will not. They cannot possibly expect everybody to want to watch their ads. |
You do know what this means don't you? They will have to find ways to get people to see the ads. If people don't see the ads, why should the company pay for showing them? The ad money pays for the shows. This could lead to expensive shows getting canceled since the networks can't afford to pay for them. Of course, I'm betting it will be a geek-loved show since those tend to cost more than others. (Ex: An ep of Angel could cost more than an ep of Law & Order since Angel has all the effects costs).
Back to ways of getting you to see the ads. Simple: Bottom of the screen ads similar to how some cable channels advertise stuff. |
So what exactly did the Replay tv's commercial skip/advance feature do that they were pressured to remove it?
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Originally Posted by RoboDad
It would be nice if TiVo users had the same 30 second skip feature that Dish Network's DVR has (or even the 60 second version that my Panasonic DVD recorder has). I can skip through 4 minutes of commercials in under 5 seconds. I think this feature should required on all DVRs. Of course, I'm sure advertisers disagree with me. ;)
Not sure if this works on all models but use this code to activate 30 sec skip: select, play, select, 3, 0, select Then the jump to end button becomes a 30 second skip button. I couldn't live without it. |
Originally Posted by maxpower
So what exactly did the Replay tv's commercial skip/advance feature do that they were pressured to remove it?
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very interesting comments and article.
i just recently got into owning a TiVo and ReplayTV myself and use & enjoy the commerical skip ability. |
you guys can laugh but all this means is advertisers will find more obnoxious ways to get the products and services into our faces. :down: Shit like annoying and distracting Product placement in movies, Hum Vees driving around with huge billboard decals all over them, and other annoying stuff.
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you mean like the new Fantastic Four movie where all the major labels adveristed in one scene? LOL
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Those annoying banner ads that self-promote a networks shows are just the beginning.
We could see "commercial free" TV that has 1/3 of the screen occupied by ads. Like the TV Guide network. Could get real ugly. DVDs also present a problem. People are foresaking commercial tv altogether and waiting for the DVD release. I think it is a an advertising struggle that is long over due. |
People with DVR's skip ads?
More news from the land of D'uh. |
Originally Posted by apeyard
Not sure if this works on all models but use this code to activate 30 sec skip:
select, play, select, 3, 0, select Then the jump to end button becomes a 30 second skip button. I couldn't live without it. |
I promise - I never skip ads. ;)
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Originally Posted by Red Dog
I promise - I never skip ads. ;)
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I only watch ads for movies that I want to see or a funny advertisement that I once saw. Sometimes the advertisements are better than the show you are currently watching.
And I think one way they'll try to shove advertising on you is the channel guide button. When you press that they could show a mcdonalds ad in a corner on your screen somewhere. |
Originally Posted by Ayre
DVDs also present a problem. People are foresaking commercial tv altogether and waiting for the DVD release.
Right now for instance there is no way I'm not watching the current season of Rescue Me and instead waiting for the DVD release. And I'll be tuning in for Over There when that starts up. (of course I'm watching the recording of the show off my DVR and skipping the commercials) :p If however, I don't get around to seeing a movie like Crash in the theater, I'll wait for the DVD. |
I'll watch ads if they are for products I'm interested in, or are interesting/humourous eyecatching.
So the challenge now is for the advertisers to create ads I want to see, since I'm no longer 'forced' to watch them. They actually have to, you know, be creative and original. Product placement is nothing new, it's been around for decades. In some ways it's gotten more subtle [Reeses Pieces in ET], in other ways, not [Grand prize for some reality show, being a certain model car.] Didn't Exxon or someone sponsor one of the classic B/W Sat night shows? I think the company name was even in the name of the show. And radio soap operas were originally written to be 30-minute soap infomercials. |
Originally Posted by Bandoman
Whoa, slow down. Where are you when you first press "select"?
Another favorite of mine is: select, play, select, pause, select When navigating (pause, skip forwards or backwards, etc.), the green bar will only display for a split second. You can press play twice to get it to stay on the screen longer. You can find more codes here. Those are the two I use most often however. They also need to be reset anytime your box reboots. |
Originally Posted by dtcarson
I'll watch ads if they are for products I'm interested in, or are interesting/humourous eyecatching.
So the challenge now is for the advertisers to create ads I want to see, since I'm no longer 'forced' to watch them. They actually have to, you know, be creative and original. Product placement is nothing new, it's been around for decades. In some ways it's gotten more subtle [Reeses Pieces in ET], in other ways, not [Grand prize for some reality show, being a certain model car.] Didn't Exxon or someone sponsor one of the classic B/W Sat night shows? I think the company name was even in the name of the show. And radio soap operas were originally written to be 30-minute soap infomercials. I fear advertising "bugs" like the horrid nascar ads that even include sound half the time that air over tnt shows. I'd rather have product placement - I could care less what drink/food someone eats on the show, or what car they drive or phone they use. That I can ignore. A bug taking up 1/3 of the screen is cause to never watch that station again. In Germany I think they have 1-5 minute "shows" that air between segments of the program you're watching - they're continuing stories, like soaps or dramas, and that serves as a pretty big incentive to not skip commercials, since you never know when your mini-show will air. That sounds pretty cool to me. And if they come up with clever superbowl-worthy ads, I'll watch commercials with a smile on my face and a laugh in my heart. :D |
If advertisers had their way, we'd all watch television like this:
<img src="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/cultureshock/flashpoints/theater/images/clockwork_big.jpg" width=272 height=178> |
Originally Posted by MEJHarrison
I think it works best while viewing a recording. Not sure if it works if you're not viewing a recording.
I ended up turning off the 30 second skip on my Tivo. I prefer just fast forwarding. Takes about the same amount to time and I can hit play and get it right at the start back of the show, with the skip I end up 20 or so seconds into the show too often and have to rewind so it ends up being more of a hassle IMO. |
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