For all the hype that attended their arrival on the scene, personal video recorders (PVRs) like TiVo and ReplayTV have been surprisingly slow to make their way into American living rooms.
But that doesn't mean they're not still going to change the face of television advertising.
Within two years, advertisers and TV networks will begin to feel the impact of PVRs on the effectiveness of the 30-second spot, according to a new report by the Yankee Group, a Boston-based consultancy.
What's more, by 2007, such devices – which allow users to fast-forward through commercials or even skip them with a single click – could be costing advertisers some $5.5 billion a year in wasted spending.
