Tivo is a great thing, but there is one problem. I never know when new shows are coming.
Since I tend to fast forward through the commercial breaks, I miss the promos for new shows as well. In the last couple days I’ve realized that there are several things I have not heard about, yet want to watch. I like both Jeremiah and Horatio Hornblower, yet I was unaware that new episodes were coming. Luckily with Hornblower, I found out today, two days in advance. Unluckily with Jeremiah, I’ve already missed the first two episodes.
Tivo suggestions is good but I rarely check it, but there needs to be a companion web site that emails you info on recommended upcoming shows.
This is a symptom of the bigger problem the PVR is bringing to Television. When people stop watching promos, it’s going to be much, MUCH harder to get them to watch new things. I’m not sure what going to happen, but the way television is promoted is going to change.
7 thoughts on “The problem with Tivo”
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Promos in Tivo land
First days of seminars at Promax Asia, most of them are informative, I actually managed to attend everyone of them today. Most of them were well… same ol’ same ol’, but one speaker Lee Hunt who talked about boosting ratings with promos and packaging …
I’ve had a TiVo for around 3 years, and I had the same problem, but have come up with a somewhat-better-then-feeble workaround.
I have a low priority wishlist for shows with “PILOT” in their title (and on the DTiVo you can also search for premiere shows) and are on their first run.
Most new shows have pilot as their episode title (but not all), so I get most of the ones that would fit into my recording schedule anyway. Not all though, because a snow that might be on multiple times will still bump a pilot, and if there are multiple pilots on at once the TiVo doesn’t really know which are the most interesting (if you look in History under TODO and look at future conflicts that would help, but that eats into the time TiVo was in theory saving you…).
I also get some random shows that are about pilots (off of discovery wings mostly).
The other thing I do is try to buy the TV guide new fall season guide, which won’t help with midseason replacements, but it helps the start of the season. I also use to watch TiVo Takes when it use to be on, and I use to read a bunch of TV news sites when I use to have enough free time that I wanted to fill with more TV 🙂
Anyway not perfect, but it does help. It would help more if the TiVo guide data had a flag for “new series” and you could just set a wishlist for that.
Or you could not fast forward over ads that look like they are for new TV shows 🙂 (or you could just get good at watching “blip verts”, I know there is some sort of green acres like thing coming up in December, even ‘tho I never watched the ad at less then 2~3xFF!)
I disagree, I find that the TiVo doesn’t hinder my watching of promos or commercials in any way. I commonly rewind in a commercial break if I saw something that looked cool, I also often stop my forward shuttle right before the program comes back just so I can see the bumper. Being a fan of marketing, advertising and television programming in general, these are important key parts of the overall TV experience to me. Therefore, I watch for the ads and bumpers so I can accommodate them. TiVo doesn’t prevent me from watching commercials and promos it just lets me pick out the ones that don’t suck. I also use the Tivoloution feature often to see upcoming shows, specials and premiers; especially at the start of the season. Yes, TiVo makes life easier and it takes a lot of the pain and planing out of recording television but you still have to know what you want. Hopefully, the advent of the TiVo will show advertisers that selling spots is not dead and people will watch commercials and be affected by them, you just have to make better more captivating ads. Television advertising needs to transcend the traditional formulas of the thirty-second spot. Tomorrow’s commercials need to be creative, innovative, witty and have higher production values. Yes, you small cookie cutter ad firms need to shape up or be ousted from broadcast television in favor of small boutique design firms crossing over from the web space.
This is my vision of the future take what you may. I, on the other hand, will continue to dream of a day when every commercial on television takes you on a journey that I can’t stand NOT to watch. Then the day may come where product placement fits so seamlessly into the story line that you live vicariously through the characters and love the product just as they do. Much like Maranda, I LOVE my Tivo. Absolute Genius.
Preach on, brother james!
James, you are scary… because you are like an advertiser’s/promo producer’s wet dream. I see your point, and myself being an TV ad addict and a designer who makes TV promo for a living, I’d most certainly want more people to think like you, but the fact is you are in a minority in terms of Tivo users who actually wants to back up and watch the ads and Promos, looks for product placement and is more than happy to live vicariously through the characters of a TV show.
Most people just want to get through the shows, if people can skip all the promos and ads they will.
I agree, James is scary.
Ahhh, but what you don’t know is that I actually AM a evil advertiser/promo producer. Secretly morphing the supple young minds of america through the power of the media…. Mu-Ha-Ha-Ha!
Geez, I am scarry.
Seriously though, if they make advertising better then mabye more people would watch it, I think thats in line with what alot of people think.