DVR: TV Network’s New Best Friend?

A recent Nielsen report on DVR viewing habits, discussed in this New York Times article, shows that 46 percent of the coveted 18-49 demographic still sits through ads when watching shows on DVR. Wait, what? Wasn’t DVR supposed to kill network television because viewers could skip the ads? That was the cry from the networks when DVR usage really took off a couple of years ago, but the numbers coming out now are painting a much better picture.

Nielsen now reports the Live +3 (live viewings plus DVR playback over the following 3 days when commercials are watched) in their final ratings reports, and it’s boosting the numbers of most shows. Grey’s Anatomy and House see the biggest increase in viewership, but shows that have middling (How I Met Your Mother) or struggling (Heroes) ratings are seeing significant increases that add value and keep them on the air. Whether it will be enough for Heroes looks iffy right now, but at least NBC has some good news from the Nielsen report, because “the Leno effect” is dragging them down five nights a week. According to the report, The Jay Leno Show is one of the few shows who’s +3 rating is actually lower than the Live rating. In other words, no one’s watching live and no one’s DVRing. Ouch.

And just why are shows getting such an increase from the +3 data? Why are 46% of viewers not taking advantage of the technology to skip the ads? Analysts say it’s force of habit/laziness. We’re used to sitting through commercials, and televison is a passive activity, so it takes an active choice to fast forward. Makes sense. I also posit that for some, just being able to watch a show on their schedule, rather than the network’s, is enough of a convenience that skipping the commercials is an afterthought.

On the other hand, I want both. I like being able to watch a show when I want to watch it, and I’m squarely in the 54% who do fast forward.  Most of the time. I have been known to go back and watch an ad that looks intriguing, like the new Apple commercial with PC touting Windows 7 and Mac taking us back in time to all the other Windows OS claims. I had to go back and find out why PC had a mullet and flip up sunglasses. It made me chuckle.

What about you? Are you a DVR addict? Do you fast forward through the ads, or is getting to watch a show when you want enough for you? Have you ever gone back to watch an ad that looked interesting?