ON RAINING ON TIVO'S ADWORDS PARADE

WAIT JUST A MINUTE...

There seems to be almost universal applause for Tivo's plans to introduce an Ad Words and Search for Ads program for it's digital video recorders this spring (see this Wall Street Journal story).  As the story explains:

"TiVo users will be able to set up a profile of products on their television screens by clicking on categories such as automotive or travel or typing in keywords such as "BMW" or "cruises."

On a regular basis, TiVo will then download relevant commercials to TiVo recorders over the Internet or, for those users who don't have broadband, send the video via traditional broadcast signals. The commercials will appear on-screen in a folder next to the list of television shows TiVo users record.

Advertisers, in turn, will be able to select the keywords and categories with which they wish to be associated for their ads. TiVo is in discussions with advertising agencies about the best way to price such advertising, but one option is to let advertisers bid on keywords as they do when buying ads on Internet search engines.

"The Google model is something we're reviewing," says Davina Kent, TiVo's vice president for national advertising sales."

Yes, Tivo, you and almost every other company on earth...get in line.

There seems to be some enthusiasm for this announcement.  Some examples (via memeorandum):

1.  Om Malik:  "From an advertiser perspective, this is not such a bad option - you have a much higher chance of getting your ad viewed."

2.  Carl Howe:  "This is a brilliant idea, comparable to that of Google when it decided to launch AdWords."

3.  Joel Cheesman:  "This is very exciting."

Now, I'm a big fan and long time user of Tivo DVRs.  I've owned them since they first came out, and own over half a dozen of the current models.  So I'll root for any positive development for Tivo's business model.

But there are some friction points to Tivo's plan in my view of the world:

1.  Tivo Remote:  Users interact with Tivo using this little remote control pictured here.  There are only numerical keys on the thing...no alphabetic buttons.

Do you see a keyboard anywhere where users can type in, "BMW", or say, "Chevrolet"?

Before you go there, have you even tried to type in programs you want the thing to record?

I mean, didn't you rejoice like I did, when Tivo made it possible to input your programs to record via software downloaded onto your PC, even though it was a whole series of additional steps?

Sure, they could make a wireless keyboard available and all, but there are two problems with that:

• They cost money, and likely users will have to pay something to buy a keyboard...so they can search for ads...right...

• Can you imagine the lady of the house accepting another electronic thingamajiggy keyboard in the living room, on the cocktail table??

2.  Set-up Process:  The WSJ article explains that "users will spend some time setting up profiles on their TV screens of things they like".  And then go and view the commercials in a folder before all the programs they have to view.

The one thing that has happened to me post-Tivo vs. pre-Tivo, is that I'm constantly finding myself short on time to view all the stuff the thing is recording for me.  And most of it is stuff I told it to record, and WANT to find the time to watch.

In fact, I find most of the time, managing the hard drive space, deleting stuff that I probably won't watch for stuff I think I'll still be able to make time to watch.  And it's a frustrating process, waiting for Tivo's puny processor keep up with all the keystroke presses on the remote.

So as interesting as this announcement may be on the surface, I think I'm with BusinessWeek's Stephen Baker here, who feels:

"Not many people these days look to TV ads for information. To succeed they must be entertaining. This service may work, but I'm betting it will be fed by people (like my kids) who will subscribe to funny beer commercials."

I mean, am I missing something here?

Comments

[HF]

It's not that bad to type stuff in. I see this working like keyword wishlists. You put in the topic once and forget about it, and as ads appear you will see them. Or maybe they will even have pre-defined keywords so entering them will be even easier - you just pick out the first couple of letters and then scroll to the word you want.

As far as disk space, as I understand it TiVo already sets aside an hour or so of disk space for just such uses. You're already paying that price, so you might as well use it.

[Jonh]

Interesting assumption: people want to see ads. Isn't one of the big selling points about VCRs and PVRs that you can avoid the ads entirely? Who actively looks at ads? - unless they're funny, beautifully abstract or just plain bizarre. (And which usually say nothing about the product iteself, other than 'cool'.) Sounds like an app in search of a use.