Troubling, yes. Surprising, no. Moreover, back in June of 2003, TiVo announced it would sell its user viewing habit information to advertisers. Make that, "I always feel like somebody's marketing to me."

It is not only not surprising, the TiVo paradigm requires this. That is the way that they build their customized recommendation; by learning what you watch.

Everyone is blowing this whole TiVo privacy issue out of whack. What are you afraid of? That some company knows you watch the Spice Channel seven days per week? Who cares??

Don't be surprised if one day TiVo is bought out by the people that handle the Neilson ratings. From what I understand, the NMRG already purchases user data from TiVo. Since the standard Neilson ratings system doesn't take time-shifting into account, purchasing TiVo would be the natural evolution of their studies into our television habits and would be a quick and easy way of getting Neilson boxes into millions of homes.

Everyone is blowing this whole TiVo privacy issue out of whack. What are you afraid of? That some company knows you watch the Spice channel 7 days per week? Who cares??

Don't be surprised if one day TiVo is bought out by the people that handle the Neilson ratings. From what I understand, the NMRG already purchases user data from TiVo. Since the standard Neilson ratings system doesn't take time-shifting into account, purchasing TiVo would be the natural evolution of their studies into our television habits and would be a quick and easy way to get Neilson boxes into millions of homes.

I now have lived to see the day when privacy has become an afterthought and freedom is scorned. So natural now to say so what ....sad. Perhaps the road to bar-coding everyone is closer than ever.

It seems these days we have a hard time buying a product that just does what we want it to do, in this case, record TV shows. In their product advertising, does TiVo place as much emphasis on what their product does for them as on what it can do for us? I don't think so. That's a 'gotcha' we find out after we get the product home.

All I want to be able to do is watch a television show without marketers invading my privacy ever 5 minutes. I used to be able to tolerate watching a half hour show - not any more. The fevered frenzy with which marketers try to invade our minds has finally pushed too far. This "consumer" now turns off the television, reads books and listens to NPR. There should be a National Public Television channel as well.

I had been considering getting TIVO - too bad (for them). Privacy seems to mean nothing anymore. One of the main reasons that I had considered getting TIVO was gain control of my TV and what/when I watch, not to have someone analyze my TV viewing habbits and then have the gall to try to sell me something. As consumers we have tremendous power over companies policies by refusing to purchase products that don't meet our needs. Ed

You have to first agree to be watched. Do you bother trying to contact these companies yourself and verify your story? Not to mention it's aggregate data, not specific user data.

From the Tivo website: "TiVo’s audience measurement analysis is based on aggregated data from a sample of 20,000 anonymous TiVo households."

Do some research before you spout off.

I bought a Panasonic HDR - no monthly payments, no Big Brother keeping track of what I watch. I know how to program my HDR, so I don't need anything suggesting programs for me. Not everything needs to be super-convient. Privacy means not having to reveal anything I don't wish to reveal.

Duh!! If you don't want them watching you, don't buy the product!

Dee, I think your idea about "NATIONAL PUBLIC TELEVISION" is GREAT. In order to sound like a real network, instead of using your name, which abbreviates to NPT, (which is the name of a preganancy test, isn't it?) I'd call it PUBLIC BROADCASTING SERVICE, PBS, and it would sound like CBS. Maybe people would get confused by the to and end up watching PBS instead of CBS. Hey, maybe you and I are on to something!

The concern is that the technology allows them to monitor us. Consent is required now but how do we know if it is being honored or if consent won't be required in the future. The information is available. It can then be resourced by Government. They can see who is watching "subversive" or political shows (they already monitor our library lending.) This infomation can be stored on file and may be used against you in the future. You might find yourself being designated as a risk without ever knowing how or why. Just for the books you read and the shows you watch. How is this blowing out of proportion? And if you don't choose TiVo is there a choice on the market? Freedoms are lost piece by piece. Invasion of privacy needs to be resisted however it appears because the process doesn't stop. Who is to say we won't have an evan more invasive and unconstitutional administration in the future?

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