WebProNews

The phrase "TiVo it" may have just expanded its meaning. Next year, a new advertising search function with digital video recorder (DVR) producer, TiVo, will debut allowing pizza-hungry couch potatoes to "TiVo" a pizza delivery service.

The company announced today that in Spring 2006, it plans to offer a television-based advertising search service utilizing TiVo's TV search capabilities to deliver product information to viewers who seek out that information. Searchable by categories and keywords, the new model is based on the success of Internet advertising.

The news may come as long awaited salve for a sore spot caused by TiVo's debut, which allowed viewers to skip television commercials altogether.

Media and advertising agencies including Interpublic Media, OMD, Starcom Mediavest Group, The Richards Group, and Comcast Spotlight have teamed up with TiVo in developing the new product. They will lend research and development expertise for determining relevant categories of interest, such as automotive, travel, telecommunications, and consumer packaged goods.

The shift in consumer media usage, namely the impact of Internet content and advertising, is providing new opportunities in other arenas. Television will change too, as advertising adjacent to mass programming will give way to more targeted, on demand models, without the limitations of traditional media placement.

TiVo expects that ads delivered to TiVo subscribers via keyword searches will result in increased relevancy for the consumer as well as efficient, measurable results for advertisers.

"In the rapidly evolving era of permission based marketing the ability for consumers to deliberately seek out long-form advertising is a huge boon for both advertisers and viewers," said Mark Rosenthal, Chairman and CEO, Interpublic Media.

Jason L. Miller is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business.