• Variety, Monday, November 17, 2008 9:17 AM

TiVo has paved the way toward seemingly inevitable scenarios where on-air talent doubles as a pitchman. It's a form of product placement injected with zap-proof steroids.

In radio, hosts and reporters now seamlessly shift from political diatribes or weather updates to plugging mortgage lenders and other brands. Expect TV to increasingly join in.

At KCBS-TV in Los Angeles, for instance, the marketing manager for a local pizza chain made a delivery to sports anchor Jim Hill during his highlight show, and awkwardly bantered with Hill about how terrific his pizza is. During Fox's NFL pre-game showcase, analysts Michael Strahan and Terry Bradshaw took a break from sports to demonstrate the legroom and capacity of a Ford truck.

According to research from Knowledge Networks, a small percentage of viewers object to product integration, a few actually enjoy it, and the lion's share don't care. So, there's little reason to anticipate a significant ratings backlash.

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