Tuned In+Advertising | November 2, 2009

Lazy TV Viewers to the Rescue!

By James Poniewozik

Remember those DVRs that are supposed to be killing the TV business by letting people skip advertising? Turns out they’re killing the TV business somewhat more softly than previously thought. Or maybe even helping it.

The ultimate outcome is still hazy, but the effects of DVR on TV have become more complicated because, as Bill Carter reports in the New York Times, it turns out that 46% of viewers 18 to 49 years old (the magic target for advertisers) are still watching the commercials in shows they record. The irresistible force that is technology has met the immovable object that is the slack-jawed American TV viewer, and they are fighting to a draw!

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Tuned In+TV Ratings | September 30, 2009

Leno TiVo-Proof? Not So, Says TiVo

By James Poniewozik

Now that the TV-cost-reduction experiment otherwise known as The Jay Leno Show is in its third week, the numbers are starting to accumulate. After a big debut, his average nightly take has been bouncing around 6 million or so—above, but not a lot above, the 5 million he averaged on Tonight—depending on the strength of [...]

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Tuned In+Uncategorized | September 14, 2009

The Morning After: Hot Shot

By James Poniewozik

So we’ve developed a mini-ritual of watching a little of the U.S. Open with the Tuned In Jrs. before bed. Last night, we started watching the beginning of the Federer match on TiVo. Meanwhile, I checked my Twitter feed, where people were Twittering in real time about Federer having having made an amazing shot at [...]

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Tuned In+Advertising | September 10, 2009

The Networks Start a New Ratings Service. But It Won't Be CIMM-ple.

By James Poniewozik

A coalition of advertisers and media companies (my corporate master Time Warner included) today announced the name of a planned new ratings service to compete with Nielsen: the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement, or CIMM. (Not actually sure how the acronym is pronounced, but “simm” works for my headline, so I’m sticking with it for [...]

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Tuned In+Uncategorized | August 18, 2009

Tivo-vival: Lessons From Tech Support

By James Poniewozik

My TiVo lives! The TiVo which replaced the one that died, that is. Which replaced the one that died eight months ago. Last December, I let you know in detail when replacing my defective TiVo box required 14 hours on the phone with TiVo and Time Warner NYC customer service to finally get the CableCard [...]

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Tuned In+Uncategorized | August 7, 2009

The Morning After: In Which My TiVo Dies, Yet Again

By James Poniewozik

What did you watch on TV last night? I watched my TiVo die on me, before my eyes! Again! It was riveting! If you’re a follower of this blog, you know that I have a love-hate relationship with TiVo. Love it when it’s working. Hate it when it’s not. Which is too often. This makes [...]