Never enough time…

• TiVo VP podcast: DVR meets broadband. (iMedia)
• NBC Nightly News rebroadcast on web. (MSNBC)
• Windows Media Player 11 Beta released. (Microsoft)
• How TiVo is cashing in on the interactive age. (Thomas Hawk)
• Samsung intros plasmas with built-in DVR. (HD Beat)
• Elgato EyeTV software updated. (MacNN)

TiVo Inc. (Nasdaq: TIVO), the creator and leader in advertising solutions and television services for digital video recorders (DVRs), today announced an upfront, multi-million dollar advertising agreement with Interpublic Media, which oversees the media services operations of the Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE: IPG), including Initiative, MAGNA Global, Universal McCann and a number of leading specialist media agencies.

“TiVo is pleased to have Interpublic Media as the first major advertising holding company to sign an upfront deal. This agreement further validates our commitment to the advertising industry and presents an opportunity for all of Interpublic’s clients to leverage TiVo’s DVR advertising to reach an attractive demographic,” said Tom Rogers, President and CEO of TiVo. “TiVo offers an interactive advertising solution that enables the consumer to pause television and engage in a branded advertising experience, without missing even a second of the TV show a viewer is watching. We are excited to expand our long-standing relationship with Interpublic and look forward to capitalizing on their intellectual capital, experience and relationships in the future.”

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We started with Showcases and those “yellow star” menu items, then graduated to the pop-up ads, followed by advertising masquerading as downloadable video, and just this week Product Watch commercials-on-demand were launched. Having fun yet? Now the already cluttered Series 2 Music, Photos, Products, and More area is gaining a custom Lexus application. Would you like a little TV with your commercial?

See comments below for more opinion…

TiVo says: TiVo Inc., the creator and a leader in advertising solutions and television services for digital video recorders (DVRs), today unveiled the first advertiser custom application, the Lexus Car Configuration Tool, that will be integrated into a Showcase on the TiVo(R) service. Adding to TiVo’s advertising product portfolio, the custom application provides advertisers with increased consumer engagement through unique interactive elements and an increased response rate over traditional campaigns.

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As announced in November, TiVo is launching their targeted commercials service today. Presumably, one will select advertisement preferences through a new HME app on the recently updated Music, Photos, Products & More screen. As long as the ads remain voluntary and unobtrusive, I’m in favor of TiVo generating additional revenue… assuming they continue adding useful features (unlike this one) and keep fees reasonable. Though, as Om Malik suggests, TiVo’s continued push into advertising presents a business opportunity for another DVR maker to market itself as the anti-ad platform. Is there is a manufacturer brave enough to bring back ReplayTV’s commercial skip?

Wall Street Journal says: For the most part, the marketers won’t run traditional 30-second TV commercials. Instead, they will offer longer ads that attempt to be more informative than typical commercials. Kraft, for instance, will offer 20 different cooking videos that will show such things as how to grill its Tombstone pizza, potato-salad basics, or how to create a cantaloupe-and-Jell-O dessert. General Motors, likewise, will offer detailed video presentations about its vehicles. Ford is trying something more entertaining: one-minute takes of magicians Penn & Teller performing various tricks on a golf course, with a Ford vehicle shown nearby. TiVo users will be able to search for ads in several categories, including finance, lifestyles and travel and leisure. LendingTree’s ad, in the finance category, features personal-finance expert Suze Orman giving step-by-step overviews of different types of loans.

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If CSTV’s Navy football didn’t do it for you, now’s your chance for some hot surfing action! In addition to pimping NBC’s broadcast, TiVo is also advertising eMusic. Notice 4 out of 5 lines of text end with an exclamation point… yet I don’t feel very excited. At least they didn’t use Caps Lock. Wake me up when the VOD looks something like a Hollywood feature, not another commercial.

Business 2.0 has a cool little write-up and gallery of Netflix envelopes evolving over the years… Story here, pictures here.

Years of experimentation went into creating the perfect DVD envelope. In 1999, Netflix started out with a heavy cardboard mailer. With only 100,000 subscribers, costs weren’t a concern yet. Then the company experimented with plastic envelopes, which proved not to be recyclable, and padding, which added too much to postage costs. Both top-loading and side-loading envelopes made an appearance.

If you’re a photogenic Slingbox owner living in the DC area, check out this television opportunity posted to the Sling Community.

We have an interesting media opportunity coming up, and I would like to recruit a greater DC-area Slingbox owner to get a chance to participate in it! Here are the requirements:

• You must be a Slingbox owner, and have it installed in your home/apartment, which must be located in the greater DC area
• You must use BOTH SlingPlayer for Windows and Mobile software
• You must be congenial/charismatic enough to appear on nation-wide television

This will be for a prominent, nationally aired TV show. Taping will occur late this month or early next month. Just think, you could actually watch yourself on your Slingbox!