TiVo, Amazon Bring E-Shopping To TV Sets

By Greg Tarr -- TWICE, 7/22/2008

Alviso, Calif. — TiVo said Tuesday it is teaming up with Amazon to enable consumers to purchase products through their TV sets, using the TiVo remote control.

Starting today, TiVo will launch the new service by merchandising products related to several high-profile shows, including “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” “The Colbert Report,” and “Burn Notice.” The feature will work with all broadband-connected Series2, Series3 and TiVo HD DVRs, TiVo said.

The new product-purchasing feature will give television advertisers the ability to market products sold through Amazon.com “on any broadcast or cable network, any TV show, or via any of TiVo's interactive advertising features.”

“The viewer with an impulse can buy right away and no longer needs to remember to do so the next time they are at their PC,” stated Evan Young, TiVo broadband services director. “Television advertisers and consumer products companies are no longer limited to the traditional linear shopping channels that require live viewing for product merchandising and fulfillment — if their product is seen or advertised on any TV show or network, and sold by Amazon.com, it can be merchandised to viewers through TiVo.”

TiVo said users can also use its Universal Swivel Search function to find and buy products associated with shows, movies, actors, and directors, through the TiVo/TV system.

Once a product is selected, users will have the option to complete the purchase immediately or add it to their Amazon.com shopping cart for later checkout. Shipping and tax, if applicable, will be automatically calculated and presented to the user before final confirmation, and purchases will be secured with a PIN associated with the user's Amazon.com account, TiVo said.

In addition, television advertisers will be able to merchandise specific products through TiVo advertising features such as Interactive Tags, Gold Star Sponsorships and Program Placement, TiVo said.

Using the feature, Amazon said it can work with record labels, for example, to merchandise and sell a new artist's CD on a show where the music is featured, or a publisher can merchandise an author's book during a talk show when the author appears as a guest.

TiVo's Program Placement feature enables advertisers to target viewers with related products via specific shows and genres. Interactive Tags will enhance traditional commercials and make them actionable, allowing consumers to get additional information or take advantage of unique offers while automatically pausing the program.