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Engadget and others are reporting that contrary to the very spirit of the set-top box DVR, TiVo says all subscribers with select devices will see ads prior to playing recorded shows after a software update rolls out. TiVo says subscribers will be able to skip the ads coming in the next 90 days, but did not elaborate on this as a user says they had to fast forward through the ads. Many subscribers are angry and threatening to cancel, calling the ads a feature that devalues the service as they pay for the ability to skip ads altogether.
This prompts the question: will cable companies, losing subscribers and looking to replace that revenue, do the same with their DVRs?
Original article: https://www.engadget.com/2019/09/21/tivo-pre-roll-dvr-ads-for-all-users/.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Monday September 23 2019, @03:29PM (2 children)
I had a TiVo since 2005. Upgraded to a Premier XL with 1 TB internal, a few years later. It was great. A few years later, I noticed that there wasn't much worth watching on cable, much less worth recording just to not watch it at a later time that was more convenient for me not to watch it.
In 2013 I stopped watching CNN. Before the end of that year, I was starting to watch more and more Netflix. Then added Hulu. Then Amazon Prime. By Spring 2014, I wasn't watching cable at all, so got rid of it. At some point, got a RoKu, added HBO, Starz.
I realized I hadn't actually used the TiVo, so unplugged it. My was it dusty. A nice convenience whose time came and then went. TiVo can blame their demise on cord cutting. Blame cord cutting on . . .
ADVERTISING
It destroys every medium it ever touches.
Every new medium of human communication won't rise to widespread popular use until it has pr0n. Once that communications medium has advertising, it is gradually but inexorably headed to its demise.
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.
(Score: 2) by NotSanguine on Monday September 23 2019, @10:08PM (1 child)
That tracks with my experience. I bought a new TV in 2003 and got a *free* tivo to go with it.
I got very used to time shifting and fast forwarding through commercials and upgraded to a Premiere XL as well (I still use it).
Yeah, cable is a vast wasteland and the only reason I've kept it is to watch baseball games (my local team shows ~120 of the 162 games exclusively on their cable channel). Most of the other stuff I still watch (PBS stuff and Jeopardy) are on OTA channels.
MLB.tv could have been an option, but they black out local games. :(
I have Mythtv and a Roku (a $40 stick I bought to watch the Acorn.tv subscription I was given as a gift) and use it to watch Amazon Prime, Acorn and sometimes PBS shows. Apps on the Tivo are godawful and incredibly slow. The Roku is much better for those streaming channels.
The problem with Roku apps (and Amazon Prime) is that they have unskippable ads. Once I got used to avoiding ads with the Tivo, there was no going back, as I have always despised ads.
I will continue to use my Tivo for the few things that I still watch until they force these "pre-roll ads" on me or the device breaks. Amazon Prime can go fuck themselves. If there's something on there I really want to watch, I'll torrent it to avoid their ads.
In fact, even though I will get "The Expanse" season 4 for *free* from them when it's released on 13 December, I will torrent that to avoid their ads.
No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday September 24 2019, @01:28PM
That is my experience as well. Just one more reason to ditch the TiVo. It was obviously designed for cable and not for internet.
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.