Gideon SHOOTS, GIDEON SCOOOOOOORRRESSSS
 

I know this isn't as cool as a swarmy swarm, but I'm sure he'll be happy.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124630931068470139.html

By MARTIN PEERS

In cable TV vs. Hollywood, it's game cable.

The Supreme Court's decision Monday not to hear an entertainment industry appeal of the network digital video recorder case is a big victory for Cablevision Systems and the broader cable industry.

Digital video recording offered through a central server rather than individual devices in each home should reduce Cablevision's capital expenditure - good news for cable investors. Cablevision won't have to send a technician to a customer's house to install individual DVRs.

That should accelerate DVR deployment. About 28% of households with TV sets will have DVRs at the end of this month, estimates Magna Global, growing to 42% by 2014. Cablevision could boost that number by offering customers free network DVR service for a month or two to get them hooked.

That isn't good news for the entertainment industry, which relies on TV advertising to help pay the bills. Many DVR users fast-forward through commercials.

Admittedly, there's no guarantee a network DVR service will work as well as DVRs installed in consumers' houses. Hundreds of thousands of people recording TV shows simultaneously could strain Cablevision's network.

Assuming any kinks get worked out, the question is how entertainment companies react, after three years fighting the issue in court. Cablevision has argued that network DVRs offer the potential for new advertising approaches, such as by updating the ads stored in a recorded program.

Nothing will stop ad-skipping completely. If, instead of fighting, Hollywood works with the cable industry on new ways to sell TV advertising, it might have a chance of getting back in the match.

this is the first time I have even heard of this. It would be kind of a cool option. no box, you just use an on screen menu to record the shows you want. I would imagine they will have to have a pretty robust system in place to handle that.

Watch and now they will start to charge you per gig for the shows you save. No thanks.

That's why product placement (or as gideon so childishly calls it: "branding bugs") will become the new way to advertise on television. It's already been used in the movies for decades.

I saw a test run of it a couple of weeks ago on WWE Monday Night Raw wrestling on USA Network. They did a storyline where Donald Trump took over the show from Vince McMahon and to screw with McMahon (in the storyline), Trump made it a "commercial free" show.

Of course the announcers had a big bucket of KFC right on the announce table and kept eating it and offering it to the wrestlers and talking about it every few minutes. lol

That will definitely be the direction t.v. will turn to once they change gears and actually write a one hour show to fill a one hour time slot. DVR's can be set to eliminate all commercials so it's imperative that they go with product placement in the show.

Hah, it'll be like The Truman Show.

BTW, you watch wrestling? :helpme

I just figured out your avatar. . . It might be the coolest thing ever :)