Press release

09/17/2007

TIVO ANNOUNCES RESULTS OF ITS STOP||WATCH™ COMMERCIAL RANKINGS FOR JULY

Top Commercials Aired During NBC’s America’s Got Talent and CBS’ 48 Hours Mystery 

ALVISO, Calif. — September 17, 2007 — TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO), the creator of and a leader in advertising solutions and television services for digital video recorders (DVRs), today announced its Top Commercial Rankings for July, as viewed by TiVo subscribers.

Categories tracked using TiVo’s Stop||Watch™ ratings service include standard “Top” lists: Top Total Viewing Commercials compared with Total Viewing of Top Programs; Timeshifted Commercials compared with Timeshifted Programs; and Least Fast-Forwarded Brand Campaigns, in addition to a special monthly analysis of interest - comparing the Least Fast-Forwarded Brands in Primetime for several product categories for January to April and May to July.

Top 5 Least Fast-Forwarded Brands, by Product Category (broadcast networks, primetime)^*:   

Motion Pictures

 

Automobiles

 

Soft Drinks

 

OTC Remedies

 

* Highest ratio of commercial rating to program rating among timeshifted viewers; min # of 20 spots. No Promos or PSAs included.

“The standard monthly Top 10 lists of overall least fast-forwarded commercials have been extremely well received but have left many people wanting more - so this month we take a look at a few specific product categories,” said Todd Juenger, Vice President & General Manager, TiVo Audience Research & Measurement. 

• Very rarely did a brand make the Top 5 list for both time periods.  The only brands to achieve that were Red Bull, Sudafed PE Nasal Decongestant, the Excedrin family, the Ford family, and the 20^th Century Fox and Universal movie studios.
• Seasonality is clearly in play.  Top movie spots are driven by schedule of openings.  OTC remedies are driven by seasonal ailments.

Mr. Juenger noted that these rankings should not be interpreted as a scorecard of ‘who had the best commercials’ and that media placement has a significant impact on fast-forwarding behavior, likely playing a larger role than the creative itself.  In an effort to level the playing field, the analysis was restricted to broadcast networks in Primetime.  Mr. Juenger also pointed out that brands with heaviest ad schedules are at a disadvantage because the more often spots run, the more likely the overall amount fast-forwarding regresses toward the mean.    

July -- Top Commercials v. Top Program Episodes (Total Viewing)

 

• It is officially summer: the first time a cable network has made the Top 10 list - TNT's The Closer occupies top five spots in total rating.
• It is officially summer (Part II): the highest rated show garnered a 10.4 total rating -- in May the highest rated show had a 25.6 rating.
• Studio 60 on Sunset Strip refuses to die among TiVo viewers, still cracking the Top 10.
• All of the Top 10 Commercials aired during two programs that were not in Top 10 Total Viewership.
• AT&T Wireless made the Top 10 list for Total Viewership for 3^rd consecutive month.

Mr. Juenger added, “The fact that all of the Top 10 commercials ran in programs that did not even make the Top 10 list is really quite interesting. Moreover, the two programs which had all the top commercials were ranked 13^th and 37^th in total viewership (June 26 episode of America's Got Talent ranked 13^th, total rating of 8.1 and July 7 episode of 48 Hours Mystery ranked 37^th, total rating of 6.5).  While this seems surprising, it occurred because both these programs had both a large total rating and a high percentage of Live viewership (where viewers could not fast-forward through commercials).”

• Live Viewership Breakout (Primetime):
  
  

Ranking	Program	Date	Rating
1st	America’s Got Talent	26-June	4.5
2nd	America’s Got Talent	10-July	4.3
3rd	48 Hours Mystery	7-July	4.1

 

July -- Top Commercials v. Top Program Episodes (Timeshifted Viewing)

 

• The Top 10 Timeshifted programs were exactly the same as the Top 10 Total programs, although in a slightly different order.
• The percent of Timeshifted viewing was again quite high this month - The Closer had 70% of its viewing on Timeshifted basis and 62% of viewing for So You Think You Can Dance was Timeshifted.
• As usual, none of the Top Commercials in Timeshifted Viewing were the same as the Top Commercials in Total Viewing.
• While three of the Top Timeshifted spots appeared in separate episodes of The Closer, none of the Top Timeshifted spots appeared in So You Think You Can Dance.
• The vast majority (8 out of 10) of Top Timeshifted commercials appeared on cable networks.
• While the Top Timeshifted Program had a rating of 7.3, the highest rated commercial in that episode garnered a 3.1 (and no other commercials from that episode made the Top 10).

 

July – Least Fast-Forwarded Brand Campaigns

 

 

 

• Two automobile manufacturers were among the top three brands on the Broadcast, Primetime list.
• Pharmaceuticals/OTC remedies placed the most brands (three) on the Top 10 List.
• As in previous reports, there is no unusual distribution of first or last pod positions among the top campaigns.
• Some brands continue to show up regularly on the Least Fast-Forwarded List (all networks/dayparts), including Samsung, Tax Masters, and Audemars Piguet Watches.
• It is worth noting that these campaigns air almost exclusively on cable, almost exclusively on CNN, and almost exclusively during Daytime -- all of these factors contribute to lower overall fast-forwarding, in general, compared with higher rated Primetime, broadcast environments.

TiVo’s Top Commercial Rankings reports, an industry first, were generated using TiVo’s Stop||Watch service’s unique ability to track consumer viewing behavior on a second-by-second basis, in both Live and Timeshifted viewing context.

The Stop||Watch ratings service, introduced in February 2007, is offered via an easily sortable database of ratings for nationally run programs and advertisements in primetime and daytime, with data going back to September 2006. Each month the Stop||Watch ratings service will issue the standard “Top” lists as well as special analyses of interest, (e.g. top lists by program genre, network, or product category). Subscribers to the Stop||Watch ratings service include Starcom USA, the Interpublic Group of Companies, Media IQ, MPMA and Crispin Porter + Bogusky.

TiVo Stop||Watch ratings service data is derived from a daily, aggregate, anonymous, stratified random sample of 20,000 TiVo units – from which the second-by-second “clickstream” of behavior and viewership is collected and assessed.  The Stop||Watch service includes data for: Total Viewing, Live Viewing, Timeshifted Viewing (less than 1 hour, 1-6 hours, 6-24 hours, 24-48 hours, 2-7 day, and 7-14 day delay), Program Ratings, Commercial Ratings and a Commercial Viewership Index.  The Stop||Watch service uses ad occurrence data from TNS Media Intelligence to identify commercial spots.  For more information on the TiVo Stop||Watch ratings service, visit https://stopwatch.tivo.com .

About TiVo Inc.
Founded in 1997, TiVo (NASDAQ: TIVO) pioneered a brand new category of products with the development of the first commercially available digital video recorder (DVR). Sold through leading consumer electronic retailers, TiVo has developed a brand which resonates boldly with consumers as providing a superior television experience. Through agreements with leading satellite and cable providers, TiVo also integrates its DVR service features into the set-top boxes of mass distributors. TiVo’s DVR functionality and ease of use, with such features as Season Pass™ recordings, WishList® searches, and TiVo® KidZone, have elevated its popularity among consumers and have created a whole new way for viewers to watch television. With a continued investment in its patented technologies, TiVo is revolutionizing the way consumers watch and access home entertainment. Rapidly becoming the focal point of the digital living room, TiVo’s DVR is at the center of experiencing new forms of content on the TV, such as broadband delivered video, music and photos. With innovative features, such as TiVoToGo™ transfers and online scheduling, TiVo is expanding the notion of consumers experiencing “TiVo, TV your way.®” The TiVo® service is also at the forefront of providing innovative marketing solutions for the television industry, including a unique platform for advertisers and audience measurement research. The company is based in Alviso, Calif.

TiVo, Stop||Watch, Season Pass, WishList, Series2, Series3, TiVoToGo, ‘TiVo, TV your way’ and the TiVo Logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of TiVo Inc. or its subsidiaries worldwide. © 2007 TiVo Inc. All rights reserved.