Can your cable company tell which shows you are watching?

[techs]

If you're like me and have a digital cable box, I was wondering if a cable company could/does keep track of what you watch?
Not for nefarious purposes, but to see which channels they should keep and which are unpopular?

 

[Quasmo]

With digital cable I believe they can, with analog, no.

 

[shortylickens]

The new digital boxes with the cards know exactly what you are allowed to access and exactly what you are watching at any given instant.

If you read your agreement carefully they probably have a clause saying they are allowed the recieve that info from your box any time they want.

ITS ALL A CONSPIRACY!!!

 

[Modelworks]

It depends on the box your using.
Some boxes maintain a subscribed list in the actual box.
When you first plug up the box it contacts the cable company, gives its serial/id numbers and retrieves the list of channels you pay for. It updates the list every few hours/days.

Then when you change the channel the box compares the internal list.
The cable company wouldn't know what channels you are watching, just what you are subscribed to.


The other kind of box, doesn't maintain an internal list. Instead when you change the channel, it contacts the cable company, asks it if that channel is one of the channels you pay for and either approves or denies your request to watch the channel.

That kind of box allows the cable company to know exactly what channels you are watching and at what times.

Most companies use the first kind of box, the second one causes lots of network traffic and makes changing the channel slower, since the box has to get approval on every channel change.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

i used to tell customers the IR receiver was a camera hahaha