Google watching you watch Dish Network

[mike123abc]

Google Tags TiVo For Set-Top Data - 2009-11-24 05:01:00 | Multichannel News

While this article describes the addition of TiVo DVRs to Google's tracking, it also mentions Dish Network is already providing data.

Launched in 2007, Google TV Ads has served more than 100 billion TV ad impressions to date, the company claims. Google has a deal with Dish Network to sell local ad inventory for 100 networks carried on the satellite service and also sells select national inventory for about a dozen networks, including CBS College Sports, Bloomberg TV, and NBC Universal's CNBC, MSNBC and Syfy.

Essentially they "know" when you skip forward over an ad vs watching it:

Google will combine second-by-second set-top data from TiVo with data from Dish Network, which will let the Web giant track the viewing habits associated with more than 5 million TV sets -- and sell ads with more precision

Also interesting to note that this involves 4 million Dish settop boxes and will add about 1 million TiVo Boxes.

[Scott Greczkowski]

Yup they have been doing it for years now. No big surprise here.

[Skyhi]

I wonder if they're discovering that people who have DVRs never watch commercials...

[priester68]

I do watch commercials. I just watch them at the speed of light on my way back to the program.

[mike123abc]

I wonder if we can blame the obnoxiously loud commercials on Google Ads...

I actually watch a few commercials, when using skip forward sometimes a commercial catches my eye and I will go back and watch it... That probably flashes red alert on the tracking software -- a commercial someone went back for!

Other times if I have to do something I will just leave it running commercials while I leave the room (i.e. bathroom break). The system is still inaccurate until they install cameras that track eyeballs in the room...

[TheKrell]

Yup they have been doing it for years now. No big surprise here.

They have been doing what for years? I claim what we've heard about before was statistical viewing habits, and not anything approaching the privacy-invasion that this article implies regarding Tivo equipment. Certainly Dish receivers with modems weren't (I hope!) sending back such a huge amount of data as Tivo apparently is. How could they? The non-DVR receivers would be even more problematic, since they would have to store these data in limited memory before uploading it to Dish.

And I am absolutely shocked at the "second-by-second" comment re: Tivo. I would never buy a Tivo box now that I know it's Big Brother-ish behavior. Note that the article does not say Dish receivers can or do record our second-by-second viewing habits. So there is no way advertisers are going to know whether I skip commercials. At least that's my claim.

Even if I got it right, I'm still upset about the formerly-statistical data collection transmogrifying into personally identifiable data gathering. I regard this as an outrageous invasion of my privacy. Is that in the new TOS that I haven't bothered to read recently?

[jacmyoung]

They have been doing what for years? I claim what we've heard about before was statistical viewing habits, and not anything approaching the privacy-invasion that this article implies regarding Tivo equipment. Certainly Dish receivers with modems weren't (I hope!) sending back such a huge amount of data as Tivo apparently is. How could they? The non-DVR receivers would be even more problematic, since they would have to store these data in limited memory before uploading it to Dish.

And I am absolutely shocked at the "second-by-second" comment re: Tivo. I would never buy a Tivo box now that I know it's Big Brother-ish behavior. Note that the article does not say Dish receivers can or do record our second-by-second viewing habits. So there is no way advertisers are going to know whether I skip commercials. At least that's my claim.

Even if I got it right, I'm still upset about the formerly-statistical data collection transmogrifying into personally identifiable data gathering. I regard this as an outrageous invasion of my privacy. Is that in the new TOS that I haven't bothered to read recently?

I share your sentiment.

However I suspect the report was inaccurate. As Scott said Google and DISH had their deal some time ago. DISH only provided one of the outlets to place Google ads. I don't recall DISH was providing any viewing data to Google.

This is the first time TiVo is on board with Google, and also the first time I read that TiVo's second by second data mining will be used by Google to enhance the ad program. I doubt DISH's DVRs have reached second by second level but will not be surprised if they can do the same thing the TiVo standalones can.

This news gives me pause as I evaluate my next move. I am with DirecTV for now and glad DirecTV is not part of this, not yet.

[digiblur]

I can assure you that if you have a DVR with any provider (cable, satellite, etc) your data is being sold. That's if of course you have it hooked up via ethernet or phone line. I wouldn't worry about it, it's all anonymous data, probably done by zip code and the packages you have. I can care less that someone knows what I watch...just wish I could get a piece of the pie, but oh well it's probably only a few cents a subscriber.

[Scott Greczkowski]

This news gives me pause as I evaluate my next move. I am with DirecTV for now and glad DirecTV is not part of this, not yet.

I believe that DirecTV collects this information as well, but I am not sure who they sell the data to.

[Scott Greczkowski]

Here is more on this from the past...

http://www.satelliteguys.us/dish-net...r-viewing.html

http://www.satelliteguys.us/dish-net...spying-me.html