• TV Week, Wednesday, March 11, 2009 9:31 AM

In promotional spots for its own shows, Fox is using some of the tricks it has learned from its advertisers. In recent weeks, the network has started sprinkling its commercial breaks with what it's calling "TiVo-busters"--spots designed to be effective even when viewers use a DVR to fast-forward through advertising.

The first campaign is a 10-second tune-in spot for new drama "Lie to Me." A viewer watching Fox in real time would see actor Tim Roth leaning in toward the camera in slow motion and hear intense music and Roth saying, "I know when you're lying." People who hold down the fast-forward button on their DVRs don't hear the audio, but see a single shot of Roth and a large logo of the show.

"The point is not to stop you [from fast-forwarding]. It's to convey the tune-in message and the show information no matter what mode you're in," says Joe Earley, Fox executive vice president. The network is also testing original content interspersed throughout commercial breaks as a way to get viewers to pay more attention to the ads.

Read the whole story at TV Week »