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IT Cox to Introduce Anti Commercial-Skipping Technology
Tuan Nguyen (Blog) - May 9, 2007 1:35 AM

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Analysts say other cable providers may follow suit

ABC and ESPN signed a deal with Cox Communications to offer video-on-demand broadcasts of hit TV series such as Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives and sports events. However, Cox customers that subscribe to the new on-demand service will have their fast forward features disabled on PVRs.

The goal with the new program is to increase ad revenue, which broadcasters have been crying foul over since the dawn of PVRs like TiVo. ABC, ESPN and parent company Walt Disney Co. handed Cox the rules to abide by if Cox wanted to have access to hit programs. But Cox isn't showing any concern, and in fact welcomes the restriction. "We are excited about collaborating with Disney and using their great ABC and ESPN content to provide our customers with 'anywhere, anytime' access to content they value," said Cox president Pat Esser.

Reports say that Cox and Disney are still ironing out the details on what kind of ads will play, for how long and how often during a program. None of the above companies mentioned whether or not users will still be able to switch channels when a commercial pops up.

"This project is another example of how our digital strategy integrates into our overall business strategy," said Disney co-chair Anne Sweeney. "It provides consumers with more access to our hit programming while showcasing our continued dedication to working with our distribution and advertising partners to develop and grow viable multiplatform business opportunities."

DailyTech previously reported that Philips was hard at work on technology that would prevent TV viewers from skipping commercials entirely -- even from changing the channel. The technology would be embedded into mainstream PVRs and allow broadcasters and cable operators to lock a viewer into watching a commercial. Causing an uproar with consumers, Philips issued a response and indicated that the technology could be turned off by users -- somewhat beating the whole point of having anti-skip technology to begin with.

Ad-skipping is considered such a bane among broadcasters that even TiVo launched an entire division just for the sole purpose of ad research. TiVo said it wants to find out what commercials viewers are skipping, when, how often and why. The PVR pioneer hopes that advertisers will look to it when the time comes to develop new commercials.

If the deal between Cox, ABC and ESPN is fully realized, analysts say it would open the playing field for other content providers to demand the same restrictions on cable providers.

On the other hand, Microsoft is lobbying its own advertisement system and proposes that advertisers think differently about the changes in the IT world. The software giant says ads should be stored locally on a viewer's PVR rather than be embedded into a program. This way, broadcasters can pick and choose ads accordingly.

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