The Full TiVo Nielsen
I have heard that Tivo was collecting data on the viewing habits of their users but I had no idea of the extent of this practice. Although the company says that they do not collect any statistics that could be tracked back to an individual, after the Janet Jackson incident, TiVo’s abilities became more apparent. TiVo records the incident as the most reviewed act of all time. The power of the company has even attracted the eyes and ears of Nielsen Media Research, a leading provider of information on television-viewing habits.
TiVo this week signed a deal to provide data to Nielsen Media Research, a leading provider of information on television-viewing habits. Under the agreement, TiVo will supply Nielsen with anonymous data on the habits of subscribers who have agreed to hand over their information, giving Nielsen its first look at the tendencies of DVR users. Nielsen spokesman Jack Loftus said Thursday that the next deal Nielsen reaches with TiVo, or any other DVR supplier, will involve more valuable demographic information about viewers, such as age or sex.
“It’s a natural step,” Loftus said, because it makes Nielsen’s services dramatically more valuable to the company’s advertiser clients.
Most consumer data collection is done for marketing purposes, resulting, at worst, in more junk mail for those whose name winds up on a given list. Still, some privacy advocates worry that intimate data–once collected–may take on a life of its own, either by mistake or through malicious behavior. Such information could be damaging, if it wound up as evidence in court proceedings or in other unexpected contexts.
Companies that hope to gather and market consumer data have downplayed consumer concerns, arguing that surveillance fears are misplaced. Many have been working for years to assure customers that their practices are benign, creating and pushing for the adoption of practices they claim will minimize privacy risks.
TiVo assures that the data they collect is done in a completely anonymous fashion. If you have concerns about the practice, TiVo has provided a solution.
So what information does TiVo collect about its viewers? The company can indeed tell what has been watched on a particular TiVo box, down to the second, including the number of times a moment was rewound and played again, or a commercial was skipped.
The information is transmitted back to TiVo headquarters in Alviso, Calif., via the same phone line used to download show schedules to the DVR inside a home. The information itself is used to automatically suggest which shows a viewer would like, based on previous selections.
But for all the granularity involved in tracking viewing habits, TiVo said there’s nothing personal attached to the resulting data, as promised in its subscriber privacy policy.
“There is no demographic information sent back to TiVo,” Sutherland said. “TiVo doesn’t know any of that.”
In fact, it’s Nielsen that will be reaching out to TiVo users for the more personal information, if and when it decides to take that step, Loftus said.
Those concerned about being part of the sporadic random samplings TiVo conducts, such as the one taken during the Super Bowl, can call an 800 number to opt out.
If this week’s wave of complaints offers any clues, though, TiVo may still have some work to do to convince customers that it has their interests at heart.
The actual phone number was not posted in the article.