TiVo announced it has extended its StopWatch service from 20,000 to 100,000 TiVo subscribers.
StopWatch, the ratings service TiVo is pairing with its digital video recorders (DVRs), catches and delivers second-by-second anonymous research data used to compile ratings.
TiVo says the increased sample size will provide users with data 25 times larger than any other ratings database available through other panel-based measurement sources. This increase also allows TiVo to produce stable ratings measurements in lower viewership cable networks, which are currently not measured including Noggin, Sleuth, Sprout and Planet Green, among others.
“We are especially pleased with the enthusiasm being generated by the ratings we’re providing for previously unmeasured networks,” Todd Juenger, VP and General Manager, TiVo Audience Research & Measurement, said in a statement. “In this day and age, where highly fragmented Internet audiences are being measured click-by-click, it is unacceptable to have television networks with hundreds of thousands of viewers with no source of measurement.”
TiVo also announced Monday that the roughly 750,000 subscribers with broadband-enabled TiVo DVRs will now be able to order Domino's pizza directly through their television set.
"Pizza on-demand" has been a popular interactive TV demonstration at cable trade shows over the years and a real commercial application launched by Time Warner Cable's Oceanic Cable in Hawaii. TiVo's version will allow subscribers to order pizza for delivery or pick-up and track delivery timing, right from their TV sets using the TiVo service. TiVo subscribers can set-up a user name and password on Dominos.com so that each time they use their TiVo remote to place an order, they can log-in with a simple account number. Alternatively, TiVo subscribers can enter their delivery address, build their pizza order right from the television set by selecting type of crust, toppings, and sauces, and get the pizza delivered by their local Domino's Pizza. Viewers pay in cash when the pizza is delivered.
The deal with Domino's comes with various advertising entry points on the TiVo user interface including Gold Star Sponsorship, Program Placement, Interactive Tags in live TV spots, and through Music, Photos, Products, & More by clicking on "Order Your Dominos Pizza Now."
"Joining forces with Domino's Pizza creates an effective marketing and commerce tool for Domino's while enhancing and further distinguishing TiVo as the ultimate way to watch TV with a closed-loop advertising experience," said Karen Bressner, TiVo's Senior Vice President of Advertising Sales, in a statement. "This exciting new partnership offers yet another advertising solution as commercial avoidance continues to increase. With just a few clicks of the remote, TiVo users can pause their program, order a pizza, and then sit back, relax, and return to their favorite show without missing a single second."
