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Broadcast television network <a href="http://ww.nbcu.com">NBC</a> and DVR pioneer <a href="http://www.tivo.com">TiVo</a> have announced a new multi-year deal that will enable NBC to sell TiVo Interactive Tags to advertisers in combination with other NBC advertising bundles. TiVo Interactive Tags enable TiVo viewers to click an on-screen icon during an advertisement to receive more information about a product or from an advertiser; when the user is done, she or she an return to the programming at the exact place they left off. TiVo touts Interactive Tags as a way to better engage TiVo-using audiences, and as an effective way to reach TiVo users who fast-forward through advertising or time-shift programming.
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As part of the deal, NBC will also subscribe to TiVo’s "StopWatch" <a href="http://news.digitaltrends.com/news/story/13583/tivo_takes_stopwatch_to_commercials">second-by-second commercial ratings service</a>, covering both live and time-shifted ads.
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"This is a watershed moment for advertisers, broadcast and cable television and TiVo," said TiVO CEO Tom Rogers. "We have been working tirelessly to help the media industry better understand and solve the significant strategic challenges they face in the age of the DVR. Partnering with a TV powerhouse like NBC Universal to bring TiVo’s intuitive advertising solutions to a broad base of advertisers is a major step forward in the media industry’s efforts to make sure advertisers are able to adapt to the new world of DVR based viewing."
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Under the agreement, NBC Universal’s 14 television networks (including USA, Sci-Fi, and Bravo, along with outlets like MSNBC and the flagship NBC broadcast network) along with 10 NBC_owned television stations will be able to sell TiVo Interactive Tags to advertisers as a way to enhance their campaigns on NBC’s broadcast and cable networks. NBC will also begin using Interactive Tags during its own on-air promotions, including Record Tags, which offer the ability to set up recording of NBC programming with one click when a promotional spot for an NBC show appears on-air.
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Neither company disclosed the financial terms of the deal.
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