TiVo to Offer Commercials

TiVo will be using a Web-video partner to bring broadband content to TiVo subscribers. In addition, TiVo will be offering a new service called "Product Watch" to allow subscribers to view commercials on demand. This service will allow consumers to choose what commercials they would like to view. This is interesting news, considering a Jupiter Research study cited ad-skipping on DVRs may cost networks upwards of 8 billion dollars this year.

The option to allow consumers to choose their commercials reminds marketers that consumers have been given more freedom to choose what they want to view, and that the online medium is becoming more important for convergence with traditional means in order to target consumers. The trend continues to move toward on-demand, user-directed content.