NBC Universal has established a multi-faceted multi-year partnership with TiVo which includes a subscription to TiVo’s Stop||Watch service and reselling TiVo Interactive Tags for advertisements and promos. The agreement covers NBC Universal’s 14 television networks and 10 NBC owned-and-operated TV stations.
As part of the agreement, NBC Universal will offer advertisers the ability to purchase TiVo’s Interactive Tags in conjunction with other NBC advertising products as a way to enhance their campaigns on NBC broadcast and cable networks and owned TV stations. The tags allow viewers to click on an icon when watching a commercial to obtain more information about that advertiser and then return to the exact place they exited viewing. Tags also provide advertisers with an effective way to reach live, time-shifted or fast-forwarding viewers and to achieve deeper engagement through the opt-in requests for more information. NBC will also be able to offer its advertisers detailed reports on the results of campaigns that include TiVo Interactive Tags. Under the partnership, TiVo and NBC Universal will also work together to develop additional advertising products and will share revenue where appropriate.
Regarding NBC’s subscription to TiVo’s Stop||Watch™ ratings service, Mr. Rogers said, “We are thrilled that NBC is the first network to embrace our Stop||Watch commercial ratings service and can measure audience viewing behavior and ad campaigns on a second-by-second basis, in both Live and Timeshifted viewing contexts. Moreover, NBC can benefit by using the Stop||Watch service to evaluate the effectiveness of various efforts to retain audience during commercial pods.â€
NBC Universal will also begin utilizing TiVo Record Tags in its on-air promotions, which enable one-click recordings of NBC programming on any of its broadcast or cable networks when a promotional spot appears for the relevant show. NBC will use the Record Tags to help viewers discover the full breadth of NBC programming and to drive additional viewing.
Since NBCU is an existing institutional investor in TiVo, it isn’t surprising that they would be the first network to enter into this kind of partnership with TiVo. See the press release for more details.
