In a move that is certain to delight advertisers, Time Warner Cable is about to offer its customers a free recording feature for their televisions — one that will not allow them to zap through the commercials. The service, called Look Back, will let cable customers watch certain shows later on that they missed, just the way a digital video recorder does, but without an extra monthly fee. The fast-forwarding function will be turned off, however, and consumers will be limited to watching programs later on during the day they are shown, anytime before midnight. Time Warner Cable plans to start offering Look Back in October in South Carolina and then gradually introduce it around the country. The service will be something of a test case both for consumers, who will have to weigh how much control they need over their television viewing and how much they are willing to pay for it, and advertising executives, who in the past refused to pay for commercials shown during time-shifted viewing because they thought most advertisements were skipped. Time Warner Cable, which is taking a radically different approach from other companies that sell DVR services, is convinced that the interests of advertisers and consumers are more closely aligned than is commonly assumed.http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/13/business/media/13adcol.html?ex=1344657600&en=2a379b8e05b8ce63&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
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