Research Partnership Between TiVo and CBS

On Thursday, TiVo, the DVR company issued a statement saying that CBS Corp. the mass media company and TiVo Inc. had joined together in a research partnership. The financial terms of the partnership were undisclosed by TiVo.

According to the partnership agreement, CBS will be able to “develop and measure new strategies to deliver results for its advertising clients.” CBS Corp. would also learn “how to structure pods and interstitials to better keep audience attention during commercial breaks.” In addition CBS would find help in developing better promotional strategies for time shifted viewers.

More and more TV viewers are now using DVR’s as an addition to their home entertainment systems. There are now many viewers who are transiting from linear to non linear viewing. According to David F. Poltrack of CBS the challenge for networks was to change with the newfound empowerment of the viewers and serve them better as well. These networks would also have to facilitate advertising companies to reach audiences.

TiVo data is gathered through a second by second “clickstream of behavior based on an anonymous stratified sample of 20,000 TiVo units chosen randomly.