TiVo tempts privacy police


TiVo (NASDAQ: TIVO) logoTiVo (NASDAQ: TIVO) is a small company that has to compete with the digital recording devices offered by cable companies. To try to increase its revenue, the company will use its set-top boxes and data gathered from other sources to offer "demographic data about the viewers themselves, such as age, income, marital status and ethnicity," The Wall Street Journal reports.

It's a nifty idea, but all of those privacy advocates may not like it.

The new data should help marketers identify the demographics of viewers who skip ads. The TiVo data is based on 20,000 hours of sample data, while Nielsen uses only 3,000 hours for its similar service. TiVo will also allow marketers to talk to its customers using online polls. "The ability to talk to the panel and find out why they are skipping the commercial is key," Chris Boothe, head of Publicis Starcom group, told the Journal.

TiVo raffled off one of its boxes to get its customers to give up their demographic data.

Whether TiVo's customers will be concerned about marketers prying into their habits remains to be seen. Perhaps a few more free TiVo boxes will keep them from any revolt.

Update: Privacy and technology is a hot issue right now. Are things getting too interactive?

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com

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