You can run but you cannot hide. That is the fate that advertising has on the consumer. We ran from broadcast TV to cable with the hope of less commercial interruptions. HBO and Showtime forced us to pay but at least the movies were uninterrupted. We ran from linear to DVR so we could fast forward through commercials. And we ran from TV to computer to watch our shows online, when we want to watch them, and with fewer commercials to put up with. But that is changing, too. "Indeed, viewing programs on Hulu, the online video site owned by NBC Universal, News Corp. and Walt Disney, means encountering significantly fewer ads than one would see watching TV. And Disney's ABC.com has met with some success by running ABC shows with just a few ads, often from a single advertiser. But many TV executives say these methods don't bring much, if any, profit -- and therefore cannot continue." Nielsen will capture viewership data and consumers will put up with more commercials. And more advertising will bring more revenue.
On Demand is better than the DVR in one respect, the consumer doesn't need to proactively decide to tape something, it is simply available. But the DVR provides an important advantage too. It enables us to fast forward through inane, and way too many commercials, to enjoy the content, and only the content. American Idol in 40 minutes, Survivor in 42 minutes, and so in. Just two shows gives me back the time to watch more or do something else. It is the only way to watch. More on demand commercials will only help Tivo and the the DVR box.
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