I hear ya. No one really digs the idea of pop-up ads on their TiVo boxes. But as long as we continue to enjoy that fast forward button, we might just have to make a sacrifice someplace. To be frank, I could not care less about a pop-up ad on my TiVo box just so long as I my show is not filled with them and I can still fast forward.

As it often does, TiVo is finding itself caught in the middle between TiVo users and broadcasters. Any TiVo (or DVR) owner will attest to one of the joys of ownership: the ability to quickly skip through commercials. When watching The Simpsons on my TiVo, there’s nothing like hitting the fast forward button 3 times and whizzing through 2-1/2 minutes of commercials in a manner of seconds. Predictably, what the consumers love, the content producers and distributors often dislike.

Having been hard at work at brainstorming interactive advertising tools, TiVo has pulled an idea straight from the Internet (and an annoying VH1 show from a few years ago): pop-up ads. When a viewer fast forwards through commercials, an ad will pop up over about one-quarter of the screen. If the viewer gives the ad a thumbs up with the remote, he will be taken to another screen with more information on the product. The advertiser would then get feedback on consumer interest. The initial test is on Series 2 TiVos, but could be rolled out to Series 1 and DirecTV owners as well. [Read the rest]