Hey, did you know that TV commercials rule? I mean c'mon who doesn't love TV commercials? Wait a second, are you telling me you don't like commericals? Well, did you know that according to Parks Associates, "Consumers Warming to Emerging Television Advertising Services Survey finds consumers willing to trade viewing information to advertisers for the ability to fast-forward through commercials with a DVR"?

{Butthead}: Uhhhhhhhhhh, no.

Given the choice, I'd rather not be tracked nor watch commercials. I realize TV networks need to get their money from somewhere, but Parks Associates' survey points to people being "comfortable with viewer tracking and targetted advertising if offered with ad-skipping capabilities." I'm never comfortable being tracked and I think with so many channel choices, people like me are still flipping through channels during commercials or using time displacement technologies such as TiVo or Microsoft's Media Center Edition to avoid commecials. In our fast-paced society, we want to be entertained -- not get 5 consecutive 30 second sales pitches every 10 minutes! And don't get me started on movie theaters that display commercials in addition to previews! Back in my day movie theaters only... nevermind...

Of course, they also paint a picture in this study that says TiVo will be thrilled that customers will be "comfortable" being forced to watch TV commercials. TiVo recently instituted a policy where they insert their own ads as well as prevent commercial skipping. Yeah, TiVo users are really happy about that!

Apparently, their study says otherwise. We'll all take our dose of TV commercials and WE WILL LIKE IT! I guess I'm in the minority.

Read it for yourself...

DALLAS, July 28, 2005 - Nearly one-half (46%) of U.S. Internet consumers aged 13 and older are comfortable with viewer tracking and targeted advertising services if offered in conjunction with ad-skipping capabilities, according to Digital Entertainment: Changing Consumer Habits, a new study from Parks Associates.

This study, based on a survey of more than 2,000 consumers in U.S. households with Internet access, finds that consumers respond favorably to prospective television advertising services that track their viewing habits and produce targeted TV or e-mail ads if they also have the ability to fast-forward or skip regular TV commercials.

"This finding bodes well for TiVo and other PVR/DVR developers, who are hoping to balance viewers' desire to have fewer commercials with the needs of broadcasters and advertisers to better measure their audience and drive more value from advertising," said Kurt Scherf, vice president and principal analyst at Parks Associates. "The PVR/DVR platform has great potential to reshape how consumers interact with marketing messages and to improve the connections between advertisers and potential buyers."

Scherf notes that the advertising lessons now emerging from the PVR/DVR space are also applicable to service providers as they seek to deploy more interactive IP video services, including offerings from both telcos and cable MSOs.

"Advertising revenues will be important for next-generation video providers in solidifying their services," Scherf said. "In addition to building more robust ARPU and increasing customer satisfaction via on-demand applications, targeted advertising applications that better measure viewer preferences and then drive targeted purchases should be part and parcel of business model development with IP video services."

Parks Associates' Digital Entertainment: Changing Consumer Habits is an Internet-based survey instrument of 2,084 U.S. consumers in households with Internet access, including 270 teenagers between the ages of 13-17. This study analyzes consumer behavior for digital entertainment in the home, including product purchases, service subscriptions, use of home computers and the Internet for multimedia purposes, and interest in new Internet- and carrier-based services.