Netherlands-based Philips Electronics, the worldwide consumer-products giant, has filed an application with the U.S. Patent Office that would permit broadcasters to essentially freeze selected
programming, making it impossible for viewers to skip commercials. Philips itself says it has no plans to incorporate the technology in any of its own productsn but wants to make it available to
others. In its patent application, published March 30th, Philips acknowledged that its technology may not be popular with consumers, some of whom purchase DVRs specifically for the purpose of
ad-skipping, and noted that, "We developed a system where the viewer can choose, at the beginning of a movie, to either watch the movie without ads, or watch the movie with ads. It is up to the viewer
to take this decision, and up to the broadcaster to offer the various services." Expect Philips' patent application to produce plenty of angst among distributors who must decide if the technology,
though clearly appealing, can be deployed without annoying consumers.
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