The death of the 30-second TV commercial

THE DEATH OF THE 30-SECOND TV COMMERCIAL
[SOURCE: CNN|Money 3/14, AUTHOR: Paul R. La Monica]
It has already revolutionized the music business with its iPod device and iTunes music store. Now will Apple help kill the television's industry historic reliance on the 30-second TV commercial to help pay the bills? Apple is expected to begin shipping its new Apple TV device sometime this week. The product, in theory, should make advertisers nervous since it will allow consumers to easily transmit TV shows purchased on iTunes (which do not include commercials) from the iTunes library on their computer to their TV set for viewing there. "There's no question that one of the problems with the traditional 30-second TV ad is digital video recorders. The whole market is under threat from TiVo-like functions. And it's going to get easier to avoid commercials with Apple TV," said Tim Wilson, a general partner with Partech International, a venture capital firm that is looking to invest more heavily in online video and other forms of new media.
http://money.cnn.com/2007/03/13/news/companies/tv_commercials/index.htm?section=money_technology