A Reaction and Opinion on the TIVO Service - Essay Example

 A reaction and opinion on the TIVO serviceBefore services such as TIVO were available, if a person wanted to watch a television program they needed to watch the commercials too. Some people would record programs on VCRs, but this was time-consuming and constantly pressing “Forward” was a bind. Now TIVO has enabled people to watch commercial TV programs without watching the ads at all. The phrase “TIVO it” means two things. First, a person can record the program and watch it whenever they want: they are not at the mercy of a television schedule.

Second, a person can avoid watching the commercials if they want to. This has meant that most advertisers need to try and place their products within the programs themselves. This has happened in films for several decades: for example the Aston-Martin cars that James Bond always drives or the prominently placed soft drinks such as Coke in many teenage films. This is starting to occur in TV programs as well. TIVO has an edge over other companies because it was the first one to offer such service, but many cable companies are now competing with them.

For example, most cable companies, such as Comcast, now offer Digital Video Recorders that can be rented on a monthly basis and perform the same function as TIVO. These services are also cheaper than TIVO.