TiVo: Jackson stunt most replayed moment ever

[hedgetrimmer]

link: http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/ptech/02/03/television.tivo.reut/index.html

~SNIP~

Tuesday, February 3, 2004 Posted: 10:31 AM EST (1531 GMT)

LOS ANGELES, California (Hollywood Reporter) -- When Justin Timberlake tore at Janet Jackson's leather outfit during Sunday's Super Bowl half-time show, TiVo users took notice.

Then they took notice again and again, using the digital video recorder to replay the event and to pause at the crucial moment in order to discern just what it was that Jackson had revealed to millions of Americans.

TiVo said that particular halftime stunt was the most replayed moment not only of the Super Bowl but of all TV moments that the young company has ever measured.

TiVo said it used its technology to measure audience behavior among 20,000 users during the Super Bowl. The exercise revealed a 180 percent spike in viewership at the time of the -- as Timberlake refers to it -- "wardrobe malfunction."


...MORE ...

What is TiVo? ... link: http://www.tivo.com/0.0.asp

[RobertSeattle]

1. Can someone please explain this?

My understanding is that Tivo "talks" the the computer once a day to update program guides etc. I can't believe they track individual backup commands. I suppose when I'm away from my house I'll turn Tivo onto something inane to screw up their statistics.

[david_vincent]

4. I used to live in a Nielsen house

And we rigged the numbers all the time. For a favorite show, the three of us housemates would be watching, but we'd make up a bunch of "friends" and enter them into the box to give it higher ratings.

[Born Free]

14. 4 Dtivos boycotted the game

Orginally I opted out of sharing the annonymous viewing habits with TiVO but later decided it was better than having some one from the media tell me what I like.
At least we could have some input on what shows are doing best. Game night , all 4 of our Dtivos were watching something else, likewise they never watch FOX news or other right wing shows.

[Demonaut]

7. Tivo will get a backlash on this

Big Brother is right! Tivo monitors your viewing habits, asscroft must love this

[BearFlagDemocrat]

12. Explanation

http://www.tivo.com/1.6.2.asp

Does TiVo know what I'm watching?
TiVo knows how important personal privacy is to you, so we designed our system and established strict policies to help protect the privacy of your Personally Identifiable Viewing Information. In summary:

The TiVo DVR collects certain types of information from its users, including Anonymous Viewing Information, Diagnostic Information, Commerce Information, and Service Information. TiVo has no way to access any of your Personally Identifiable Viewing Information from your DVR without your prior consent. Absent your consent, the TiVo service has no way of knowing what shows you-as an individual or household- have watched, recorded, or rated with Thumbs Up(TM) or Thumbs Down(TM).

TiVo does collect Anonymous Viewing Information; that is, information about viewing choices made while using your DVR, but that does not identify you as an individual or household. In other words, there is no personally identifiable information associated with the viewing information that could identify the viewing information as coming from you or your household. TiVo also collects Diagnostic Information from a small number of randomly sampled DVRs for quality control purposes. If you don't want even your Anonymous Viewing Information or Diagnostic Information used in any way, simply tell us by calling our toll free number (1-877-367-8486).

If you affirmatively elect to engage in a commercial transaction using the TiVo service, such as by responding to an advertisement on the TiVo service, TiVo will collect and disclose your Commerce Information to the commerce partner fulfilling the transaction.

We encourage you to read our complete Privacy Policy:
http://www.tivo.com/5.11.asp

[onehandle]

13. Modern cable boxes can be monitored...

..so I assume TiVo can do the same.

Cable companies would Love to sell monitoring information, but the public would be up in arms.

[burrowowl]

2. Ooooh! So TiVo is

watching you. They can probably zero in to see if you are watching Democracy Now and other 'subversive' programs.

[SoCalDem]

3. See we all told you guys

BigBrother Tivo is watching you and Tivo knows what nasty nasty, dirty, filthy things you like to watch..Tivo's even got a list and pretends to help you find the things you "like"..

Tivo just might be waiting to document your viewing habits to an employer, insurer,law enforcement etc..

If it's recorded somewhere, it's eventually available anywhere..

Hey.. maybe someday we all can just google your name and see what you like to watch :evilgrin:

[Chico Man]

5. Self-generating user profiles

What an interesting concept.

[Flaxbee]

10. Exactly...

TiVo is really nothing more than a way to monitor viewing habits masquerading as consumer convenience. People roll their eyes at idiots who charge porno to their hotel rooms (paid for, of course, by credit card only); TiVo's just like that -- your viewing habits stored away for posterity. I'm actually surprised that TiVo records haven't been sold yet to big corporations just dying to know your viewing habits so they can bombard you with more stuff you absolutely have to buy!

[NashVegas]

6. I Have TiVo and This Really Bugs Me

I realize they need to make a buck off the service, but this really is an intrusion

[Born Free]

15. You can opt out

If you don't want to particpate, you can opt out, go to their website to see the procedure. However, keep in mind that by staying in YOU are helping the networks to decide which shows are liked most. If you opt out and others that love the right wing shows stay in , they will decide the right wing shows are better and produce more. In order for progressives to be heard, they must be willing to speak up.

[northzax]

8. and now the gubmint

must step in to protect us from ourselves.

must stop people from viewing things they want to see...must stop them...must stop...

[Champion Jack]

9. Check out this Tivo alternative

http://www.freytechnologies.com/

It's called sage tv

[PatrickS]

11. I won't be getting TiVo any time soon!

That's creepy technology.

[Born Free]

16. You are missing a lot not having TiVO

Don't let the naysayers scare you, Tivo is great, I never miss one of my favorte shows, even if it runs when I am not home. For example, I see every "Daily Show" at least once...

[unbrand]

17. It's a matter of trust and of speaking up!

Born Free, I agree with your points about TiVo. And there are many similar situations around today because of the technology we all interact with. Who speaks up and why?
Some thoughts:

1. Do Freepers target online polls to boost the results to their advantage? You bet.

2. In general, it seems that Repubs are more willing to stand up for what they believe in <ducks thrown objects>, so everything from voting for a local city council board to speaking up at a bar is skewed disproportionally to the right.

3. Can you trust TiVo to not sell your info to anybody? What if the gov't wants to take a peek at your habits? This one's trickier, but it is possible to make educated guesses about this one. Each of us here on DU can debate the "What Ifs?" but it seems that expressing your views should still be at the top of the priority list. What's the alternative? Not givning your opinion because someone somewhere MIGHT do something bad with that info?

4. I'm involved with a company that is at the core of these issues. I do believe in individuals' freedoms and helping to safeguard personal preferences. This issue is a big one and will get bigger as time goes on.

[Born Free]

20. Can you trust TiVo to not sell your info to anybody?

As you probably know, if a person is a little computer savy, you can control the files that are uploaded to TiVO. There are plenty of sites that are dedicated to hacking into your TiVO for educational puproses. Many do; just to add bigger hard drives etc and the people at TiVO don't seem to care, as long as no one tries to do anything illegal with them. According to the one TiVO programmer on a forum I visit, the people at TiVO knew they would always have to take the high road if they chose to use linux as their operating system as there are many out there that love to hack linux boxes for educational purposes. They knew they would never be able to sneak anything by these savy TiVO users and they decided it was better to take the high road and stick to it. I hope TiVO does sell the anonymous information from the files we upload, it helps TiVO and also helps the people responsible to make programming decisions - some networks such as DIY fly by the seat of their pants, guessing what people like, others prefer to get some actual viewing information.

BTW: Tivo also has many hidden codes and backdoors, I some times believe the programmers put them there just to see how long it takes the customers to discover them, but in reality they probably don't tell people about them because they are afraid it will confuse too many potential customers and scare them off.

[0007]

18. "most replayed moment ever"

Anyone ready for a "a shot of leg" that should double the titty number show, 'eh?

This is total crap!!

[0rganism]

19. I think the MVP for this superbowl has got to be the Jackson boob

Everything else was just another football game and so much overhyped bullshit. But the "wardrobe malfunction" really puts it all in perspective. That breast was the ONLY REAL THING ON TV, whether or not its appearance was accidental.

So of course the FCC has to attack it. Jackson's boob revealed a deep problem in the American psyche; this one brief moment had more profundity than the best "sports entertainment" has to offer.

Kudos to you, Janet Jackson, for keeping it really weird.