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ABC Wants DVR Fast Forwarding Disabled

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the learn-to-spell-bad-idea dept.

Anonymous CE Worker writes "The television network ABC is looking to develop technology that would disable the fast-forward button on DVRs, and allow commercials to run as intended on their channel." From the article: "Some research executives — even at networks with sales departments that acted differently — had argued before the upfront that ads viewed in fast-forward mode generated value for advertisers, since consumers were at least partly exposed to their messages. But Shaw said ABC was only interested in finding a way to receive compensation for un-skipped ads."

2 of 718 comments (clear)

  1. Screw that... by Dh2000 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I'll just stop watching TV... oh wait, I already did.

    No commericials, no annoying crap. I get more done, and if there is anything I want to watch, then I download it off of one of the many sources of free video.

    Quality and instant (yet horribly scheduled) access is the only thing TV networks have going for them, now.

  2. I want to disable... by booch · · Score: 5, Interesting

    ...cars that are pissing me off on the highway.

    ...cell phones of people in the grocery store with those stupid BlueTooth headsets.

    ...push-to-talk on cell phones.

    ...Blackberries.

    ...airplanes flying over my house at night that are too loud.

    Is there any reason why ABC should be allowed to disable someone else's equipment that they don't like, and that I should not be allowed?

    --
    Software sucks. Open Source sucks less.