Tivo chief talks up research growth potential

US-- DVR maker Tivo has talked up the growth potential of its audience research arm after signing Omnicom Media Group to its Stop Watch ratings service – the latest in a string of deals with media owners and buyers.

On a conference call discussing its 2007 results, CEO Tom Rogers said consumer uptake of ad-skipping technology would drive demand for the type of second-by-second data it provides on what its customers are watching, and what they are avoiding.

Rogers said: “Many industry experts expect DVR penetration to grow from 20% today to 35% in the next 18 months. Further, just last month over 50% of the advertisers polled in the Association of National Advertisers and Forrester Research's fourth bi-annual TV and technology survey stated that when half of all TV households use DVRs, they will cut spending on TV advertising by at least 12% and further cuts will surely follow.

“That's more than $7 billion of traditional TV ad spend that will be up for grabs. As such, it will be critical for advertisers to become experts in consumption patterns in DVR homes and we are the only player out there providing them with both new forms of inventory, as well as measurement and accountability tools that enable them to better assess how to reach the television audience increasingly looking to avoid commercials.”

Omnicom joins Carat, Starcom, NBC and CBS as a client of the Stop Watch service, which provides analysis of the TV watching habits of 20,000 random, anonymous subscribers.

Late last year Tivo announced plans to expand its research offer by building an opt-in panel of 20,000 customers who would share their demographic information with advertisers, as well as their viewing information.

Author: Brian Tarran

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