Idolator

Viacom, benevolent overlord of MTV Networks, has begun to track its audience's interest in its programming at a second-to-second level, using the (cough) video channel as its guinea pig. Except that instead of checking to see if interest in the The Hills spikes whenever Lauren is onscreen or at what moment a given viewer puts their boot through their TV during an episode of My Super Sweet 16, Viacom is using the data to note when people are paying attention to its commercials, having realized that its viewership has long been associated with the kind of A.D.D.-addled attention spans that make it hard for ads to sink in: More »