We're Not Who You Think We Are
by Jim Connelly
OK, this seems weird: TiVo, which has long helped its users escape watching commercials, has rolled out a service that will allow its users to instead find commercials.
It’s not a full 360 — they aren’t forcing anybody to watch commercials, like Time-Warners’s “Start Over” service, or that evil TV & DVR idea patented by Philips which skips commercials only for those who pay an extra fee — but it still initially seems counterintuitive.
But maybe not.
by Jim Connelly
Time-Warner Cable, who seem to be at forefront of trying new things with cable programming, are expanding their “Start Over” service beyond their original test market in South Carolina.
In and of itself, “Start Over” is a pretty good idea: if you’re flipping around, and you find a show that you’ve missed the first few minutes of, you can use this service to watch that show from the beginning.
There is a catch, however: you cannot fast-forward through commercials.
Here is my reasoned analysis of that limitation:
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
[Read more…] about Don’t Look Back: Start Over Might Be Gaining On You
by Jim Connelly
Time-Warner Cable has initiated talks with the big 4 TV networks about a on-demand TV service — but only for the top-rated shows.
It’s an interesting twist: while previous on-demand concepts have concentrated on categories of shows(sports, porn) or specific shows themselves (like HBO’s or Showtime’s on-demand services) — this is the first one with a capability of on a regular basis, based upon what what Neilsen has decided that various pluralities of the American Public deem worth watching.
Call it The Watercooler Shows On-Demand service.