TiVo to Offer Advertisers Viewing Data

TiVo said Wednesday that it had created a new division within the company that would be tasked with providing advertisers with data on its DVR user's commercial-watching habits. The first clients of the service include Nissan and OMD NEXT, a group of 14 Omnicom Media Group clients interested in data on how news media platforms affect commercial viewing.

The data would provide advertisers with an idea of what commercials are most effective in TiVo households. Although many use the device to fast forward through breaks, in some cases users may be playing certain commercials. The data would help advertisers determine which commercials are the most effective.

TiVo said the information provided is culled from a sample of 20,000 TiVo subscribers in a given day, and is completely anonymous. Information is separated into dayparts, and shows viewing patterns as well as specific points in spots where TiVo users performed some type of action, whether it be fast-forwarding, rewinding, replaying, pausing and other behaviors.

"Through our unique technology, in households serving 4.4 million subscribers, and our close cooperation with advertisers and advertising agencies, we have developed a research solution that can dramatically transform the way advertising is created, bought and delivered to consumers," TiVo CEO Tom Rogers said.

According to TiVo data, users watching recorded programs skip approximately 70 percent of commercials. However, the company has found that some commercials paired with certain types of programming will cause its subscribers to fast-forward through them less often.