Silberbauer Says:

Stupidity and media fascism know no limit. ABC suggests to implement a technology that would disable the fast-forward button on DVR’s (Digital Video Recorders such as TiVO, KiSS and other set top boxes) so that the consumers cannot fast forward through the commercials.

I’m sick of old media fascists trying to rule the world. Haven’t ABC learned anything from the way the record companies totally failed to cope with the mp3 revolution?

ABC HAS HELD DISCUSSIONS ON the use of technology that would disable the fast-forward button on DVRs, according to ABC President of Advertising Sales Mike Shaw, with the primary goal to allow TV commercials to run as intended.

“I would love it if the MSOs, during the deployment of the new DVRs they’re putting out there, would disable the fast-forward [button],” Shaw said.

While MSOs risk losing some of their DVR customers if fast-forwarding were blocked, Shaw said the cable operators–who are beefing up their own local ad sales operations–”are in the same business we’re in.” “They’ve got to sell ads too,” he said. “So if everybody’s skipping everybody’s ads, that’s not a long-term business model for them either.”

Shaw also threw cold water on the idea that neutering the fast-forward option would result in a consumer backlash. He suggested that consumers prefer DVRs for their ability to facilitate on-demand viewing and not ad-zapping–and consumers might warm to the idea that anytime viewing brings with it a tradeoff in the form of unavoidable commercial viewing.

Source: Boing Boing

Get real, Mike Shaw – you can’t fight the digital revolution. Broadcast commercials are dead anyway, narrowcasting and 1-to-1 is the way to go.

The market for tv-commercials is moving still closer to the consumer. A few years ago, Discovery Channel showed English commercials in Denmark Now local commercials are switched in during the commercial break. The next logical step is to switch in the commercials as close to the consumer as possible as a tailor made ad stream with maximum effect.

So instead of fighting the future why don’t ABC offer free ad-supported DVRs that stream 5 minutes of targeted commercials from the net every 60 minutes or so? Program each free DVR with the geographic and demographic profile of the consumer and combine this with polls and automatic usage data collection and you’ll have a marketing monster machine placed in every home. And it’ll be owned by ABC – or who ever gets there first.