Ms. Milz, 48, who lives with her husband and three children in Chicago, had agreed to be a panelist for a company called TVision Insights, which monitored her viewing habits and whether her eyes flicked down to her phone during the commercials, whether she was smiling or frowning through a device on top of her TV.
The marketing company said, Were going to ask you to put this device in your home, connect it to your TV and theyre going to watch you for the Olympics to see how you like it, what sports, your expression, whos around, she said. And I said, Whatever, I have nothing to hide.
Ms. Milz acknowledged that she had initially found the idea odd, but that those qualms had quickly faded.
Its out of sight, out of mind, she said, comparing it to the Nest security cameras in her home. She said she had initially received $60 for participating and an additional $230 after four to six months.
TVision which has worked with the Weather Channel, NBC and the Disney ABC Television Group is one of several companies that have entered living rooms in recent years, emerging with new, granular ways for marketers to understand how people are watching television and, in particular, commercials. The appeal of this information has soared as Americans rapidly change their viewing habits, streaming an increasing number of shows weeks or months after they first air, on devices as varied as smartphones, laptops and Roku boxes, not to mention TVs.