Tag: tivo

Viacom Teams Up With TiVo For More Audience Data

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Viacom is about to offer advertisers a lot more audience data that goes beyond the usual metrics that Nielsen provides. Striking a new partnership deal with TiVo, Viacom will be able to use its set-top box data from over 2.3 million households using TiVo devices to boost Viacom Vantage, its ad tool that allows advertisers to target their buys based on consumer habits.

What Brands Need To Do
Following Comcast’s recent move to tap its set-top boxes for more viewer data, Viacom is likely hoping that this move will help increase the value of  its ads in the face of its declining ratings. For brands advertising on Viacom networks, this new partnership should provide them with better targeting tools and more accurate audience insights to help reach their desired audience segments.

 

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

CES 2014: TiVo’s Cloud-Based Video Recorder Emphasizes Social Sharing

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Not to be outdone by Dish’s Hopper and SuperJoey, TiVo announced a new, cloud-based network digital video recorder at CES. The company is known for their range of DVRs, and the new Network DVR Cloud prototype aims to bring the efficiency of the original DVR to the cloud-based content that consumers are becoming accustomed to. Whereas with a traditional DVR Media content is typically stored in a subscriber’s set-top box hard drive, the NDVR stores media content in the service provider’s servers – the cloud. It also means that viewers can share content in the cloud to other authorized users, set up co-viewing experiences through social networks, as well as recommendations via cloud-based libraries. In short, keeping the content in the cloud, rather than on a hard drive, allows the data to be much more social and flexible. 

At the same time, TiVo plans to let operators and programmers manage content rights, create multiscreen policies and various tiers of network personal video recording features, so it seems like the move will seek to benefit both producers and consumers alike. 

Netflix Set-Top Box A Reality?

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Netflix is getting help in its attempt to break into the set-top box market in the United States from TiVo. Although Netflix has been met with resistance in the U.S. in its attempts to bring its type of streaming to set-top boxes, TiVo has stood with Netflix firmly through the many challenges. TiVo customers rely on set-top boxes, and TiVo’s desire to bring Netflix into their hardware fold means that for customers with providers like COX Communications, Netflix could soon come embedded within the hardware. If Netflix is indeed successful in breaking into the set-top box market, it could mark a beginning in a new era of streaming.

Apple Might Be Ready To Skip Commercials

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When Apple takes on existing technologies and puts their product design expertise to work, they have the power to move technologies formerly only accessible to the more technically-minded among us into the mainstream.  DVR technology is hardly exclusive to mega-geeks, but if Apple moved into the sphere, it is likely the popularity of the technology could explode.  Sources indicate that the technology giant has begun meeting with cable networks to pitch an ad-skipping service much like TiVo or Hopper.  This could only be a small part of a larger set-top-box project, but it could still spell a big problem for TV advertisers. The report indicates that Apple would pay networks every time a user skips ads, so it’s possible there would be a subscription fee involved as well.  In any case, if the rates are not set carefully, Apple could seriously disrupt the effectiveness and cost of TV advertising.

Boxee, Roku get infusion of cash

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Boxee, Roku get more cash--but why? (Boxee)Over the top digital media browsers (or set top boxes) are on fire with two players receiving major investments in the last two  weeks.  Boxee, a software based digital media browser has just closed a round of financing  for 6 million and Roku, a broadband set top box solutions has just secured $8.4 million in new venture capital financing from Menlo Ventures.

Boxee’s software enables users to engage with content stored on their PC and can be used on any type of monitor connected to that PC, paving the way for another living room on demand solution.  Boxee strives to improve the consumer’s content experience by enabling a number of social features to allow sharing of content and suggestions in a very robust manner.  The bulk of the investment comes from General Catalyst Partners who will also have a board seat.  Boxee hopes that the  GC relationship will “strengthen [their] relationships with big media and cable companies.”  Boxee learned the hard way with an early battle with Hulu who blocked use of their portal on the Boxee platform.   But Boxee already has steep competition from other browser based solutions as well as hardware solutions. Continue reading “Boxee, Roku get infusion of cash”

Afternoon in the Life of A Battlestar Fan

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Battlestar Galactica1)    I turn on the Tivo and select the latest episode.  I have saved the Friday night broadcast viewing for Saturday afternoon…when I have time to savor it.

2)    I log on to the Facebook group to  to check out the chatter.  What a bunch of frackin’ geeks.

3)    I watch more of the show.

4)    I pause the show to hit the main fan site,  and watch a webisode that I missed, that feeds nicely into the episode I’m watching.  I do a search on Battlestar webisodes and find them all over. Including veoh.com where some brits complain that they can’t find the webisodes anywhere else due to rights issues and “thank god” for video sharing sites.  I want to tell them that the BBC player needs to be available in the US so I can watch the last few Dr. Who episodes…but why get into a battle.  (I will do a Dr. Who search later tonight to see if I can grab anything.  I yearn for new Dr. Who episodes and don’t understand why David Tenant can’t sacrifice his career goals to continue playing the role forever. He is obviously selfish.  But he’s the doctor and so groovy).

5)    I get a snack

6)    I watch more of the show and pause…sometimes  the lighting is so dark it reminds me of the W hotels, when I bang into everything in the lobby.  I somehow connect Starwood points to Battlestar episodes and wish for a little more brightness in space.   Star Trek was well lit. What the frack!

Continue reading “Afternoon in the Life of A Battlestar Fan”