Post by dkennedy on Jun 5, 2006 4:18:29 GMT -5
DirecTV Measures TV Viewing
June 2, 2006
By Steve Donohue, Multichannel News
DirecTV Inc. broke new ground Thursday night, launching a “What’s Hot!” channel that tracks the top 10 most popular shows its subscribers are viewing at any given time.
The move — similar to a test Time Warner Cable ran in Hawaii, in which it used a panel of 1,000 homes to allow subs to track the top shows on the system — could alarm privacy advocates.
But DirecTV says the data, listed on its News Mix (channel 102) and Sports Mix (104) channels, is collected anonymously. “Never again will DirecTV viewers miss the most-talked-about shows … No other satellite or cable provider delivers this unique service,” executive vice president Eric Shanks boasted in the announcement. DirecTV says it’ll also use the info to make programming choices. It’s not clear how many subs are in the “What’s Hot” panel — DirecTV reps couldn’t be reached by deadline.
The “What’s Hot” channel could ease channel navigation for DirecTV customers, by allowing them to quickly find out what their fellow subscribers are watching.
June 2, 2006
By Steve Donohue, Multichannel News
DirecTV Inc. broke new ground Thursday night, launching a “What’s Hot!” channel that tracks the top 10 most popular shows its subscribers are viewing at any given time.
The move — similar to a test Time Warner Cable ran in Hawaii, in which it used a panel of 1,000 homes to allow subs to track the top shows on the system — could alarm privacy advocates.
But DirecTV says the data, listed on its News Mix (channel 102) and Sports Mix (104) channels, is collected anonymously. “Never again will DirecTV viewers miss the most-talked-about shows … No other satellite or cable provider delivers this unique service,” executive vice president Eric Shanks boasted in the announcement. DirecTV says it’ll also use the info to make programming choices. It’s not clear how many subs are in the “What’s Hot” panel — DirecTV reps couldn’t be reached by deadline.
The “What’s Hot” channel could ease channel navigation for DirecTV customers, by allowing them to quickly find out what their fellow subscribers are watching.