David Coursey, the Executive Editor of ZDnet’s AnchorDesk,
has this two-part commentary on using TiVo or Replay to skip broadcast advertising.
And if you’re lost or behind on why this is such an issue, a TVInsite.com article had this to report:
Jamie Kellner, chairman and CEO of Turner Broadcasting System Inc., argued that if personal video recorders like TiVo Inc.’s and SONICblue Inc.’s ReplayTV are going to allow viewers to zap commercials, consumers should pay for the privilege — as much as $250 per year.
At a dinner with AOL Time Warner executives and the media Sunday in New Orleans — gathered there for the National Show — Kellner said he worries that PVRs that will eventually be installed in set-top boxes threaten to destroy commercial TV, which, he argued, is already a fragile business.
He cited a new analyst report that said the “Big Four” broadcast networks spend $18 billion per year on programming and related costs and get a paltry 2 percent return.
One solution, he suggested: Consumers can choose either to have zapless PVRs or to pay the fee to have the capability of skipping by commercials.
