Oops, I paused it again...

Another demonstration that TiVo’s business model has legs. Back in December, John Robb wrote that TiVo’s year-end sales spelled the death of free TV. But I’m not so sure. As I said in response to John’s original post, TiVo is providing alternative methods for advertisers and others to derive value from the TV audience. Then, I talked about the Lexus ad campaign – and its staggering 20+% response rate from all TiVo subscribers.

Now comes word that the NFL paid TiVo for business intelligence services: an analysis of the viewing habits of more than 10,000 of TiVo’s subscribers during the Super Bowl. Turns out that the Pepsi commercial with Britney Spears was the most “paused, replayed, and watched in slow motion” of any commercial during the Super Bowl. Who knew Bob Dole had TiVo?

By providing alternative means of advertising (i.e., the Lexus campaign) and providing B.I. services like the analysis for the NFL, TiVo could very well continue to sustain advertising-supported broadcasting.