Now this is a monumentally bad idea:
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Walt Disney Co.’s two big TV networks, ABC and ESPN, have struck a deal with cable operator Cox Communications Inc. to offer hit shows and football games on demand, but with the unusual condition that Cox disables the fast-forward feature that allows viewers to skip ads, according to a media report Thursday.
The deal between Disney and Cox is expected to be announced today at the National Cable Television Association convention in Las Vegas, The Wall Street Journal reported in its online edition. See Wall Street Journal story (subscription required).
Apparently the deal applies only to on demand inventory, but still….it’s a Very Bad Idea.
I don’t know that this is such a horrendous idea. People who own PVRs might hate it.
But I think that in the end, many consumers will find this to be a fair trade-off (watch ads in exchange for on demand video). If I would be willing to watch LOST on ABC.com at crappy resolutions with ads, why would I not want to watch LOST at cable quality with ads?
Having video on demand from a consumer standpoint, IMO trumps everything else (even the requirement to watch ads).
So why is this a bad idea?
When I read this article in the WSJ this morning, I thought about watching TIVO with a friend in LA who runs a network show. He fast-forwards through the commercials on his own show. I’m sure the ABC executives who did this deal do too.
Given a computers multitasking ability I am sure that people would be likely to switch to a different window and surf the web whilst the ads are on anyway.
Just a thought.
BREAKING NEWS: Motorola announces new cable box that can sense the presence of humans in the room and automatically pause programming.
“We found that too many people were missing advertising by going to the bathroom during commercial breaks,” said a Motorola spokesman. “This represents a serious threat to the television advertising model. We came up with this ingenious solution in conjunction with our programming partners to ensure that small bladders don’t destroy television.”
A spokesman for Miller Brewing Company denounced the change.
Sehr interessant. Meine Vermutung ist, daß irgendeine Art Ultraschall-Sensoren sowie Körperhitze Sensoren den Kasten die Anwesenheit der Menschen nahe ihr würde verwirklichen lassen. Rocky Agrawal, könntest du uns auf die Quelle dieses Motorola Artikels bitte zeigen.
Very interesting. My guess is that some kind of ultrasonic sensors as well as body-heat sensors would allow the box to realize the presence of humans near it.. Rocky Agrawal, could you point us to the source of that Motorola article please.