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November 18, 2004
TiVo, unplugged
There's a lot of TiVo unplugging going on, and it's not just Scoble and Jeff Sandquist.
As Ben mentioned, TiVo customers next year will see "billboards," or small logos, popping up over TV commercials as they fast-forward through them. If a customer "opts in" to the ad, their contact information will be sent to the advertiser for direct marketing purposes.
The news has prompted many animated discussions among the 73,000 TiVo customers at TiVoCommunity.com. From reading the 18+ pages of discussion (as of this writing), the community seems split about the news.
About half are genuinely disappointed or angry and the other half
defends the company, saying
the revenue from the pop-up ads are a small price to keep TiVo afloat
(the company has yet to make a profit.) It's red states vs. blue states
deja vu.
As a community of customer evangelists, Tivocommunity.com is like Beyond Thunderdome (meant entirely as a compliment). The community demonstrates remarkable energy and passion in discussing the company's business and product usage, and this latest news provides an instructive look at what causes evangelism to grow or in this case, to dissipate.
One community member wrote:
I bought a Tivo because it allows me to skip commercials. I HATE commercials. I will do anything possible to circumvent commercials. I have a Tivo to block TV ads. I have an iPod so I don't have to listen to ads on the radio. I have a bunch of filtering proxy software in place so I never see ads on the Internet. Now you're telling me that while I am SKIPPING commercials I am going to be forced to watch commercials FROM Tivo? I don't think so. I refuse.
Years ago I bought a 40 hour Phillips SA [Stand-Alone TiVo]. I loved it and evangelized it to everyone I know. I then bought a DTivo [DirectTV TiVo] and evangelized THAT to everyone I know. I have PERSONALLY sold five DTivos and three SA Tivos. I also planned to buy a SA unit for my girlfriend this Christmas, until now. I will wait and hope that Tivo does the right thing here before condemning the company, but with all the recent changes at Tivo, I no longer actively evangelize them. If this comes to pass, I'll make sure I steer people AWAY. This is customer hostile, pure and simple.
I know Tivo is out to make money. But I don't think I am being naive saying that Tivo USED TO be one of those companies that was looking out for us. I can't say that they are anymore. There's lots of dollars to be made by selling out to Hollywood and TV, and I understand Tivo is trying to avoid getting sued, but by screwing us in the process they might find that their loyal subscriber base disappears. Will Tivo's advertising partners be so eager to pay for ads when Tivo's subscriber base starts shrinking? ... This is selling us out."
Another TiVo evangelist said:
I used to be a vocal advocate for Tivo. I recommended it to many many people. I really love the product. Unfortunately things at Tivo are changing in a bad way. This announcement coupled with the announcement that they will only allow [Pay Per View] recordings to stay on the Tivo for a certain amount of time have forced me to reevaluate my position and Tivo's value to me.
.... I cannot continue to endorse Tivo to everyone I see. I may even start telling people to avoid Tivo."
And this jilted TiVo customer said:
I feel that Tivo has sold me out as a loyal customer. They prefer catering to greedy corporations rather then their own consumer base....Tivo has become greedy and is now just another corporation out to make a buck. And making a buck is nothing bad, we all want to make a buck, its that they are selling us out from a promise they made us... They promised us that with Tivo we get to watch TV our way... That we get to control the TV. But now it seems we are being forced to watch TV the Tivo way, bombarded with ads.
....I'm appalled and disgusted. All I know is that I trusted Tivo and would've sworn my life to it. But that has all changed now."
A customer often becomes an evangelist for a company not only because the product or service is remarkable but also because of shared values. Whether those values are freedom, service, openness or egads -- greed -- the sense of shared identity can fuel a customer's passion and willingness to evangelize. It's an emotion-driven relationship and commitment.
When TiVo released this first-to-market time-shifting device back in 1998, it represented freedom -- television viewers could free themselves of the clumsiness of VCRs and an uncompromising broadcast schedule. Freedom is a powerful driver, and TiVo hasn't been shy about promoting that shared value; at one point, the company boasted that 96% of its subscribers would never give up their TiVo service. But now among its diehard, influential evangelists, this latest news is causing emotional fissures. The outrage expressed in the discussion samples above aren't so much about a questionable new feature but rather a change in company values. TiVo gave customers control; now they think the company is taking it back.
If customer evangelists turn into customer vigilantes, they arm themselves with hammers and nails.
Other blogs that reference TiVo, unplugged:
Like so many things in business (when dealing with consumers directly), they just don't quite get it.
I fully understand the need for ads of some sort, or subscriptions, or some other way to make these "million dollar an episode" shows.
But TIVO missed the boat in several ways on this issue:
- They didn't involve their customer evangelists in the process... if they had participated in the idea generation, they wouldn't have felt so blindsided and thus wouldn't be as upset.
- Referring to the item above, they would have seen that there would have been other options than doing a standard "annoyWare" ad of the worst style in the worst place.
- I read somewhere that a Sr. VP or the CEO had said that their revenue was going to be 1/3 based on ad sales in the future, 1/3 on subscriptions, and 1/3 on new business models. Doesn't this make anyone else scratch their heads? Why not skip "advertising" (in the traditional sense) and make new biz models take up 2/3 of your time??
Yet more proof that once you get big enough, you tend to slow down or stop thinking all together.
OK, so I understand why everyone is so upset over the whole commercial pop-ups and all. I can understand how everyone may feel like they no longer matter to TiVo. I am here to clear something up.
Yes TiVo has reached an agreement with advertisers. This was in part to keep the ability to ff through commercial available. It is no secret that it has been an on going battle with advertisers.
The pop-up are going to be no different than what you see on partner companies now when ff throuhg commercials, the green thumbs up. No more intrusive than that. It is your choice if you want to watch the advertisemnt or go past it, as now, nothing has changed. The only time your info will be sent to the advertisers is if you opt-in to a contest and such. Tivo is still maintaining the same privacy policy as it has for the past 5 years.
I work for TiVo and have to let you know this. TiVo had no plans of the pop-up info being made public until they felt the time was right. It would not been released in the matter that it was, which was very scary and un-nerving to TiVo customers and myself. Somehow the ifo was leaked to the press. Taken completely out of context. I went to work the morning the story was released and found out about literally 5 minutes before taking irate customer calls. Customers upset because they will no longer be able to ff through commercials. Completely misinformed customers. Once I was able to explain the true nature of the pop-ups and that it wouldn't hamper thier ability to watch tv thier way. They were happier.
The article that I read the morning this news broke, in the L.A Times, was so off based. I am very sorry to all the TiVo customers, especially those who have so loyal over the years. Don't lose faith in TiVo.
I felt I had to write this reply. I had no idea what TiVo was when I started working for them. I think about it and don't know how I lived without for so long. This truely is a wonderful product, no one at TiVo wants you to fell like you have been left out in the cold and your opinion doesn't matter. Me especially.
I hope this article has calmed some nerves and helped you understand this:
The media can be a dangerous thing. With out the full story the sensationalize it to sell thier papers and create some kind of upheveal. The customers are what matters to TiVo. They will come first. I know they do to me.
