Tivo - advertisers best friend?

Today, the San Jose-based company plans to start selling the data it collects from the more than 700,000 recorders in viewers' homes. This data will give the TV industry a moment-by-moment breakdown of how TiVo owners react to their commercials or shows, the LAtimes report

"By showing which commercials get skipped and when, the information could help advertisers find more effective ways to reach viewers, said Larry Gerbrandt, chief operating officer for Kagan World Media, a media and technology research firm.

"They would love to have the data. They're going to hate to see what it says," Gerbrandt said."

did you really think you could escape advertisings grasp when you got your Tivo?
If you have registered with LAtimes you can read the article here.

"TiVo plans to sell customized reports on viewing patterns during programs, as well as a quarterly report on programs' ability to retain viewers through their commercial breaks. The latter was developed with the help of Starcom MediaVest Group of Chicago, a large advertising agency.

In a preliminary study of 11,000 homes, Fielding said, Starcom found that 77% of the viewers watching recorded programs fast-forwarded through the commercials, while only 17% did so when watching shows as they were broadcast or shortly thereafter. That's not much consolation for advertisers, though, because Starcom also found that TiVo owners recorded almost two-thirds of their shows for later viewing."