Slashdot Mirror
Google to Track TV Viewers More Closely
GalacticNoob writes "According to this post, Google is about to launch a TV advertising program that will let advertisers target audiences based on demographics including their household income. A satellite TV company called Echostar is working with credit-reporting company Equifax to cross-reference shows watched with income and buying habits (based on using Equifax's data)."
"Why yes Tina, that was a commercial for Ferrari, followed by a Tiffanys spot. What was that.., oh, your panties just semeed to have fallen to your shoes."
There's nothing Intelligent about Intelligent Design.
A satellite TV company called Echostar is working with credit-reporting company Equifax to cross-reference shows watched with income and buying habits (based on using Equifax's data)
~ Ron Fitzgerald
Echostar is Dish Network.
-- I have a private email server in my basement.
Targeted advertising based on our credit history and income?
I'm pretty sure this counts as "evil".
Desai stresses that all this data is made anonymous, so it certainly won't be possible to target specific households with ads...
... yet
Humanity has precious little time left before marketers become so astute at selling directly to each and every consumer that we become powerless to resist their offerings. The only defense we will have will be to hide from all advertising, which will require curling up into a tiny little ball in a dark corner.
"A satellite-TV company called Echostar, ....."
Talk about journalistic incompetency .... It is very well know that Echostar is Dish Network. Yet the incompetent author couldn't even do a simple Google to find that KNOWN fact.
It makes the entire story questionable, when the author can't even check a simple fact.
...or debt management, or car finance, or "cheaper insurance", I'm gonna fucking throttle someone.
Operation Guillotine is in effect.
LEELA: Didn't you have ads in the twentieth century?
FRY: Well, sure, but not in our dreams. Only on TV and radio... and in magazines... and movies, and at ballgames, and on buses, and milk cartons, and T-shirts, and bananas, and written in the sky. But not in dreams, no sirree.
As a Dish Network customer, I don't recall giving Experian nor Echostar permission to conduct tracking on my credit card purchases to establish my "buying habits". As far what tv shows I watch, there's nothing I can do about Echostar tracking that data, but cross referencing with data from a credit reporting agency? Aren't they just limited to reporting my credit rating for the establishment of new accounts, loans, etc.? I think I'm going to call Dish support and have a conversation about this. Definitely not happy about this.
I know I'm not alone in this - lots of people are pretty quick with the mute button and it causes me to wonder.... Suppose you are an advertiser who pays for a really endearing ad that people love to watch. Maybe something like the slightly bewildered A&W proprietor they've been airing lately. So you go to the expense of creating ads that follow a story line and that are successful, if the audience sees and hears them.
Now imagine what happens if your ad follows one of those obnoxious ads people immediately mute. I suppose the only solution is to make sure your ad is always in the first slot - but that could get expensive.
In times of trouble, the smell of frying onions usually gives confidence and comfort.
Tivo.
__ Someday, but not this morning, I'll finally learn to use the preview button.
SNACK PREFERENCE: ALL
You may not rebroadcast these demographics without the expressed written consent of google.
Direct tv uses the internet for on demand and home network video play back on your pc's.
Dish makes you pay $5 more per box that is not hooked to a phone line or the internet.
citation please. mine have no connectivity and i don't have a $5 fee for that.
Commercials is one reason i tend to avoid TV. ( that and most content is dismal ).
None of their business who i am really.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
for their definition of "evil".
As the island of our knowledge grows, so does the shore of our ignorance.
You know, maybe if companies would spend less time trying to figure out how to target me with ads for stuff I find lacking and actually, oh I dunno, make products I actually want to buy, then maybe I would. And they wouldn't need to waste their ad dollars.
Only if you have the HD DVR.
-- I have a private email server in my basement.
My finincial data, transactions, etc are my intellectual property.
I demand all companies that wish to use such, obtain a valid paid up license.
I am offering a special, where for 10.99/Mo each telemarketer or advertiser who wishes access to my IP may obtain a valid paid-up license for that month.
It's good for one (1) single telemarketing call, or data-mining session.
Good, I'm tired of being bombarded with Viagra commercials when I'm not even in my 25's yet....
This is why I gave up TV and local radio a couple of years ago. It stopped being entertainment and just became an ad machine. Now, I just watch tv through the internet, ad free. MUHAHAHAHAHA.
I call BS! I have two receivers that have never been hooked to a phone line or the internet. The only $5 extra I pay is for having a second receiver on my account.
So "do no evil" is pretty much over, right? Seems every new move Google makes these days is the same sort of thing we'd be criticizing other scumbag companies for.
Only dual tuner receivers like the 322,625,222,or 722, can save you money if they are plugged into a phone line. (HD VIP models can use internet).
They give you the second tuner (TV) for free. So you can get 4 tvs for only an extra $5 a month.
I work for a retailer for Dish and Directv (Big Dog Satellite)
here is the cite: http://www.dishnetwork.com/phoneline/
"The monthly programming access fee for TV2 will be waived if your receiver is hooked to a phone line or high speed internet line"
Dan
Yes...watch your telescreens like good citizens
Here is your citation ... me. They charged me the first month I had it in 2006, I complained, they waived it for 3 months; I even got the woman to admit that yes, I was being charged $5 for the right NOT to be tracked and as a PENALTY for not being able to spend money on PPV. At the end of 3 months I complained, they did nothing, I was lazy, and even with the $5 it was the best deal I had given that cable was not available and DirectTV cost more. Then I moved and used their dish mover deal because cable cost WAY more and I wasn't in the mood to switch to DirectTV which was no cheaper anyway (I also don't like their DVD UI). Funny thing though, the nice man on the other end of the line when I set up the install at my new place removed the $5 completely and that was that.
So I wonder if they have stopped that fee? In the end I would never have hooked it up anyway but I also don't have a landline so it wasn't even an option ... never will either in all likelyhood.
If you can't be good, be good at it!
That is so cute that they now call it a "The monthly programming access fee" ... gotta have a name for it so you can't complain about it. Back in 2006 the operator I spoke to just called it a fee for not having the phone line plugged in so that I could order PPV without having to call or use the internet.
Calling it a "The monthly programming access fee" is especially entertaining since it isn't like it actually costs them anymore to share programming data. I strongly doubt there is a licensing fee for that second tuner to access programming info.
Mind you I'm not calling you out or anything [I just realized it might sound like I am] ... I'm calling Dish out for what amounts to dishonesty. Call it what it is, a way to track viewing and allow for,as someone else called it, impulse PPV purchases. I have no doubt there is more PPV revenue from households with a phone line/network hooked in than those without.
If you can't be good, be good at it!
what chaell your decoder is set to, not whether you are actually there watching it.
If you are one of their customers you should make sure that when you are out, or sleeping, or trolling slasdot, it is set to some random channel to confuse them.
While Dish seems to be able to keep there programming working (programs show up on my screen ) They can't make web sites so save their souls.
Maybe this reflects the split between Echostar and Dish. Their site has gotten better but is still a flash laced hodge podge. At least the links now lead to something and it may work.
I agree with you. I have given them $40 of ppv because my 9 month old son LOVES to play with the remote. Well after that we put a block on, but if every customer who plugs in a phone line orders one movie they didn't want to, well Dish just made a few million.
If you go with Directv and get 4 tvs you have to pay $15 extra No matter what.
At least Dish saves you $10 a month. Which adds up fast.
Dan
Oh, good! More info and help for the advertisers! Thanks, Google, you fucking sacks of pig shit. I hope your sex party plane crashes into a fucking mountain, you fucking, shit sucking tools, and you survive the crash, crippled and in pain for days before a fucking bear slowly eats you feet first.
Which ads would you rather constantly be pounded with on TV - new products from Apple/Google/, niche technology gadgets, action sci-fi movies, comic-cons, science kits, etc - or Mr. Clean, adult diapers, Febreeze, ED tablets, and tampons?
TARGET AWAY GOOGLE! PLEASE TARGET ME FOR ADS!
I don't get why so many people are against targeted advertising. By definition, they already know the info about you, or else they would not be able to do said targeting. All it means is they are actually using the info to make your user experience more enjoyable - and for them, hopefully mean you will pay more attention to the ads.
And see now I "get" charging extra at 4 TV's since I would imagine the licensing agreement they have with the networks means they are charged more per TV. Of course that assumes that all 4 TV's can actually be used at once, but still there is logic to that given how content is licensed.
If you can't be good, be good at it!
I guess you tend to avoid books as well (since most content is dismal).
Oh, I almost forgot - I think your car warranty has expired, but it is not too late to extent it! This is your 2nd notice!
Were you snooping through my mailbox last week?
Have you driven a fnord... lately?
You must wait a little bit before using this resource; please try again later.