Network Scheduling to Mess with Tivo

Yahoo is running a bit about Networks messing with PVRs by adding a minute to shows. If a show runs to 9:01, then you can't Tivo a show on another channel that starts at 9. I've noticed this, although it's less of a factor if you have a dual tuner tivo, but it's interesting to see a bit of mainstream coverage.

Comments

Re:Not Just TiVos

[mothz]

Actually I think it's mostly a tactic to keep viewers from changing the channel. If you're watching a show and it ends at 8:59 and then commercials come on for a minute (the traditional way), you're more likely to change the channel. But if your show ends at 9:01 and something else picks up immediately afterwards, it has a better chance at keeping your attention. Besides, you've already missed the first minute of anything else that started on another network at 9:00.

It's worth noting that this should really only work with popular shows. Suppose one station has an unpopular show on before a more popular one. If it goes over by a minute, people flipping stations at 9:00 will see the end of that show and pass it over. In this case it would be more advantageous to end on time and get the popular show started right away at 9:00 sharp.

Re:A Patch Is In Order?

[kmcrober]

That's more or less how SageTV (and probably Myth, although I haven't used it) handles conflicts. It's intuitive and very useful - I can't understand why TiVo doesn't follow suit. All that's needed is a "Conflicts" menu that shows you shows that won't be recorded due to a conflict, and lets you pick which one to weight in that instance or overall. It's much more user friendly than having to bounce in and out of menus or just change the season pass orders.

The same thing pertains to recording a few minutes into the next scheduled recording. Is there some technical reason why TiVo can't handle slightly odd recording times, or is it just a case of too little competition?

close

[geekoid]

"As long as they get the viewer in front of the tube so they can get their advertising revenue, that's all that matters."

should actually be:
"As long as they can convince the advertiser that the viewer is in front of the tube so they can get their advertising revenue, that's all that matters."