TiVo To Track Super Bowl Viewing

By Glen Dickson -- Broadcasting & Cable, 2/1/2007 7:00:00 PM

Digital video recorder (DVR) supplier TiVo says it will once again measure how much TiVo users pause, rewind, fast-forward and even just sit back and simply watch the action during this Sunday's Super Bowl broadcast on CBS.

This will be the fifth consecutive year that TiVo releases an audience measurement report that tracks viewer response to Super Bowl advertising, game highlights and "unscripted moments and entertainment," says the Alviso, Calif.-based company. TiVo’s audience measurement analysis, based on aggregated data from a sample of 10,000 anonymous households with TiVo DVR devices, gauges viewers' interest in programming content by measuring the percentage of the TiVo audience watching in "play" speed.

Last year's analysis showed that a controversial touchdown by Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in the second quarter spurred almost as much replay and rewind activity as the most popular commercials. According to TiVo, the two most popular spots last year were both from mortgage lender Ameriquest, while Budweiser, perennially the biggest Super Bowl advertiser, had four spots among the top 10 ads in TiVo households.