"I Get Good Advice From The Advertising World"

A while back I commented on what I thought - or rather, think - is the somewhat misguided fear on the part of advertisers toward DVRs. I mentioned that I am more apt to watch commercials while watching a recorded program than I am while watching live TV. While fast-forwarding through ads I often stop and go back to watch those that are able to catch my eye. When an ad break comes on during live programming however, I simply change the channel until my well- honed commercialometer tells me my original show is back.

Those times when I do pull a u-turn, it is often to catch a trailer for a film I'm interested in or starring an actor I like. Turns out I'm not alone. There is now data that suggests that quite a few viewers do the same thing.

The data comes from TiVo, who is now measuring what commercials are viewed - both in live and time-shifted contexts - and how often. Since it only measures it's own users, not the rest of us DVR lovers who get our equipment from the local cable company, it's safe to assume the actual numbers are even greater.

While some might grimace at the prospect of commercial ratings, TV the way we know and love it cannot exist without subsidies from advertisers. Some people may consider it a necessary evil, I consider it just plain necessary. Thus, I think anything that will keep advertisers calm and pumping money into my primary vice is OK. Besides, as the article tagged above states: "In some cases, according to the data, commercials score higher ratings than do the shows they are on."


P.S. Guess the song from which the title of this post comes and you will win....well, nothing actually, I'll just be impressed.