Is it just me, or does it appear that Mike Shaw is squeezing the life out of a kitten?!
Media Daily News – July 6, 2006:
ABC HAS HELD DISCUSSIONS ON the use of technology that would disable the fast-forward button on DVRs, according to ABC President of Advertising Sales Mike Shaw, with the primary goal to allow TV commercials to run as intended.
“I would love it if the MSOs, during the deployment of the new DVRs they’re putting out there, would disable the fast-forward [button],” Shaw said.
Shaw also threw cold water on the idea that neutering the fast-forward option would result in a consumer backlash. He suggested that consumers prefer DVRs for their ability to facilitate on-demand viewing and not ad-zapping–and consumers might warm to the idea that anytime viewing brings with it a tradeoff in the form of unavoidable commercial viewing.
“I’m not so sure that the whole issue really is one of commercial avoidance,” Shaw said. “It really is a matter of convenience–so you don’t miss your favorite show. And quite frankly, we’re just training a new generation of viewers to skip commercials because they can. I’m not sure that the driving reason to get a DVR in the first place is just to skip commercials. I don’t fundamentally believe that. People can understand in order to have convenience and on-demand (options), that you can’t skip commercials.”
What an asshole!
Meetsy, You mean people actually sit through the Superbowl just to watch ads? That’s like saying men flip through the photos of quasi naked women to read the articles in skin mags. I don’t think so.
“quasi naked”? That is called art !!! Hey, some of those magazines had very good articles too. In fact I remember, reading, …
I cling to my old ReplayTV with commercial skip. Don’t even have to hit the remote most of the time. That was a brilliant bit of technology that got stuffed by the industry.
Those of us who have them are among the blessed and know exactly why we love them: watch a show in 40 minutes and move on with no clinging to the remote to do it. Yes, I bought it for the ability to record a show while watching playback of another recorded show, and to do time shift, and to move shows to DVD and my ipod, but bigger than all was the commercial advance.
Shaw would do well to remember he needs us far more than we need him and his network.
I think you guys are missing the point. He’s calling for technology to disable the fast-forward button. Well that has already happened with DVDs. Everything you’ve been criticizing is here now except the studios have limited how much it gets activated.
In case you have never seen the instructions on how to make your tivo do this.