Press release

07/01/2008

TIVO ANNOUNCES RESULTS OF ITS STOP||WATCH™ COMMERCIAL, PROGRAM RANKINGS FOR MAY 2008

- Grey’s Anatomy Dominates Timeshifted Program Viewership, but Highest Rated Commercials Found Elsewhere - 

- Highest Rated Spot Among Timeshifted Viewing of American Idol Finale Gets 3x More Audience Than Lowest Rated Spot - 

ALVISO, Calif. — July 1, 2008 — TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO), the creator of and a leader in advertising solutions and television services for digital video recorders (DVRs), today unveiled the Top Commercial Rankings for May 2008, as viewed by TiVo® service subscribers.

ABC and FOX trounced all other broadcast networks in May in Total and Timeshifted viewership for both commercial and program ratings.  Seven of the Top 10 commercials in Total viewership for the month ran during the May 21^st finale of FOX’s American Idol.

“The May data demonstrates that running a commercial during a successful program does not guarantee that people will see it, especially if they are Timeshifting and watching the show later,” said Todd Juenger, Vice President & General Manager, TiVo Audience Research & Measurement.  “Grey’s Anatomy had the top four Timeshifted episodes, but only managed to sneak one spot into the Top 10.  On the other hand, House didn’t have any episodes in Top 10 Timeshifted viewing, but placed four of the top Timeshifted commercials.”

As always, there was great disparity between highest versus lowest Timeshifted spots, even within the same episode, proving again that viewers are consciously choosing which ads to watch and which to fast-forward. While the average timeshifted commercial rating was 4.8, the highest rated spot garnered an 11.1 rating, nearly three times the audience of the lowest rated spot. 

Mr. Juenger continued, “The contrast between Grey’s Anatomy dominating the Top Program list for both Total and Timeshifted viewing, while American Idol dominates the Top Commercial list for Total viewing, is instructive. Clearly a higher percentage of American Idol viewers watched the show live. In fact, 43% of viewers watched the American Idol finale live versus only 29% for the four first-run Grey’s Anatomy episodes. Even with this handicap for Timeshifted viewers, the Coca-Cola spot right before the announcement of the winner on American Idol’s May 21^st finale won the top Timeshifted commercial spot – and top overall commercial as well – showing the power of what is probably the most coveted ad positioning in American TV.”

May -- Top Commercials v. Top Programs (Total Viewing)

Top Commercials - Total Viewing						Top Programs - Total Viewing
	Brand	Program	Date	Rating		Program	Date	Rating
1.	Coca-Cola Classic	American Idol –  FOX	21- May	20.2	1.	Grey's Anatomy - ABC	22  - May	22.0
2.	Paramount: Love Guru Movie	American Idol – FOX	21- May	16.3	2.	Grey's Anatomy - ABC	15 - May	20.9
3.	Redoctane Guitar Hero Video Game	American Idol – FOX	21- May	16.2	3.	Grey's Anatomy - ABC	01- May	20.0
4.	Redoctane Guitar Hero Video Game	American Idol – FOX	21- May	16.1	4.	American Idol - FOX	21 - May	20.0
5.	Ford Autos Focus	American Idol – FOX	21- May	15.1	5.	American Idol - FOX	20 - May	20.0
6.	Dove Go Fresh Body Wash	Desperate Housewives – ABC	18- May	15.1	6.	Grey's Anatomy - ABC	08 - May	20.0
7.	iTunes.com Music Store Online	American Idol – FOX	21- May	14.8	7.	Desperate Housewives - ABC	18 - May	19.8
8.	Apple Warner Bros: Sex and the City	Grey’s Anatomy – ABC	22- May	14.7	8.	American Idol - FOX	13 - May	19.4
9.	Warner Bros: Sex and the City	American Idol – ABC	21- May	14.3	9.	Lost - ABC	08 - May	19.2
10.	Pizza Hut Restaurant	Grey’s Anatomy – ABC	22- May	14.3	10.	Lost - ABC	01 - May	19.0

 

•        With the coveted pre-Idol winner announcement position of 9:52pm, Coca-Cola delivered the number one total and time-shifted commercial rating for the month of May.

•        Seven of the Top 10 highest rated commercials ran during the American Idol finale on May 21^st, yet it was the fourth ranked program overall.

•        Only two commercials from Grey’s Anatomy scored in the Top 10 (#8 and #10), but the top three highest rated programs were all episodes of Grey’s Anatomy.

•        Movie spots did well for second month in a row (three of Top 10).

May -- Top Commercials v. Top Programs (Timeshifted Viewing)

 

 

•        Four of the Top 10 timeshifted commercial spots ran in House (even though no House episodes made the Top 10)

•        Grey’s Anatomy dominated timeshifted program rankings, with the top four slots, but only one commercial snuck on the list at #10 (a spot for Warner Bros: Sex & the City, which showed up  frequently in May)

•        Seven out of the Top 10 Time-shifted spots ran in the first pod position.

May – Least Fast-Forwarded Brand Rankings

Least Fast-Forwarded Brand Ranking*
Broadcast Networks** - Primetime			Select Cable & Broadcast Networks*** – Primetime
	Brand			Brand
1.	Dominos Pizza Restaurant		1.	Topps Major Leave Baseball Cards
2.	E-Trade Financial Online		2.	General Mills Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal
3.	Sony Pictures: You Don’t Mess with the Zohan		3.	General Mills Lucky Charms Cereal
4.	Warner Bros: Sex & The City		4.	Betty Crocker Fruit Stickerz
5.	Nasonex Allergy RX		5.	Banzai Skimboard Suffer
6.	SC Johnson & Son Inc.		6.	Meineke Car Care Center
7.	American Express Credit Card		7.	Chrysler Trucks Town & Country
8.	Thompson’s Water Sealant		8.	Pancake Puff Household DR
9.	Macy’s Household Department		9.	Nestle Crunch Crisp Candy Bar
10.	Honda Trucks Pilot		10.	Southwest Airlines Online

 

*Minimum 20 spots

** ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX

*** 31 networks considered: A&E, AMC, Animal, BET, Bravo, CNBC, CNN, Comedy, Court (TruTV), Discovery, E!, ESPN, ESPN2, ABC Family, FNC, Food, FX, HGTV, Lifetime, MSNBC, MTV, Nickelodeon, Oxygen, SciFi, Spike, TBS, TNT, Toon, Toon Disney, USA, VH1

•        May appears to be the season for allergies, yard work, and summer blockbuster movies.

•        You can tell it’s summer when Topps Baseball Cards and Banzai Skimboard Surfer rank among the top brands most successful in avoiding fast-forwarding.

•        Making the list two months in a row: Pancake Puff,Meineke Car Care Center, and Southwest Airlines.

The Stop||Watch™ ratings service, introduced in February 2007, is offered via an easily sortable database of ratings for nationally run programs and advertisements from cable and broadcast networks, with data going back to September 2006.   The service now tracks ratings for 51 nationally distributed, ad supported networks (up from 15), and covers all programming and commercials aired from 5:00am – 11:30pm (up from Daytime and Primetime only), providing subscribers with an even greater sample of audience behavioral data.

Subscribers to TiVo's Stop||Watch™ service include: Omnicom Media Group, NBC Universal, CBS Corporation, The Interpublic Group, Starcom, Carat USA, MPMA, Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Media IQ and Euro RSCG New York.

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, 48-72 hours, 2-7 day, and 7-14 day delay and C3), 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 and our website, 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(TM) recordings and WishList(R) 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(TM) transfers and online scheduling, TiVo is expanding the notion of consumers experiencing "TiVo, TV your way. (R)" The TiVo(R) service is also at the forefront of providing innovative marketing solutions for the television industry, including a unique platform for advertisers and audience research measurement.

TiVo, 'TiVo, TV your way.', Season Pass, WishList, TiVoToGo, Stop||Watch, and the TiVo Logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of TiVo Inc. or its subsidiaries worldwide. (C) 2008 TiVo Inc. All rights reserved. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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