TiVo is About to Get Automatic Commercial Skipping

• TiVo will add an AutoSkip option to the platform’s SkipMode, freeing the hands of their users.
• This feature was the one that killed ReplayTV in the past, maybe TiVo’s largest competitor.
• The new feature will be available only on the new user interface that many TiVo users despised.

As leaked by a TiVo employee on the social media, and noticed by a TiVo forum member, the popular digital video recorder (DVR) platform is about to be enriched with an automatic ad-skipping feature that was spotted by zatznotfunny. The platform already had the capacity to detect commercials and let the users skip them, but this action required manual input. The “SkipMode” will now get an “AutoSkip mode” option, so users won’t have to do anything to avoid the ads. Those who were previously using an IFTTT for automatic skipping will now have to disable the applet so as to avoid double ad skipping incidents.

This feature will be available through an upgrade that is expected to land this Spring but only for those who are running the controversial Hydra user interface. Many TiVo users decided not to update to the new UI as it introduced major changes and got a reputation of undermining the user experience that people were used to and loved. With the auto-skip feature now rolling out exclusively for Hydra, many of those who stayed on Encore will now definitely have to reconsider the pros and cons that come with this choice.

image source: http://zatznotfunny.com

TiVo’s most fierce competitor ReplayTV which is now defunct has had this auto-skipping feature since quite a few years back, but this had also introduced many problems to them with the advertisement business. Analysts claim that the lawsuits that hit ReplayTV because of this feature have actually played a neuralgic role in its operation, and has sped up its demise. TiVo has followed a more careful approach thus far, but the time for this long-anticipated feature has finally come. After the upgrade, users will get a “skip in progress” notification and a characteristic chime to indicate the ad-skipping action.

How this new feature will be met by the advertisers remains to be seen, as the matter is still a sensitive one. A recent study that was published at the beginning of the year showed that DVR users are not the ad-skippers that many thought they were, and automatic skipping systems may bring disruption to their experience. Maybe a lot of TiVo users will stay on manual skipping mode and make their own choices. For now, users are eagerly waiting for the update and judging by the forum posts, most of them are excited to see the new feature finally landing on TiVo.

Would you enable automatic commercial skipping? Let us know what your preference is in the comments below, and don’t hesitate to do the same on our socials, on Facebook and Twitter.