DVRs Help Some TV Shows Improve Ratings

ubermiester writes "After years of panicked lawsuits by content providers against TiVo and DVR technology in general, the NYTimes is reporting on yet another lesson for the content providers to learn and then immediately forget: 'Against almost every expectation, nearly half of all people watching delayed shows are still slouching on their couches watching messages about movies, cars, and beer. According to Nielsen, 46 percent of viewers 18 to 49 years old for all four networks taken together are watching the commercials during playback, up slightly from last year.' The article also notes viewership increases 'in the range of 7 to 12 percent, with some shows having increases of more than 20 percent when DVR ratings are added. The four networks together are averaging a 10 percent increase."

Comments

That's because they need MythTV

[BobMcD]

Not only is it trivial to skip commercials for a shifted show, but it can do it automatically.

I have also adjusted my life to only watching what I have recorded. I'm not sure when the last time I turned on 'Live TV' was. I have taken to keeping the last/freshest five episodes from a number of programs I like to watch, and I select from between them. Myth automatically deletes the old ones, and I find five or so is plenty for my families needs.

That being said, even seeing a commercial these days just feels odd to me, let alone watching it.

Re:That's because they need MythTV

[ArbitraryDescriptor]

Hello, I am the sponsor who keeps your favorite show on the air. Have we met? No? Well let me introduce myself.

I am not a magical entity, I am merely a corporation looking to protect my bottom line. I do not like or dislike shows, I do not judge them in any way. I don't have the internet, and I don't read your fan forums. So I don't know how many of you really like the show; all I know is whether you saw my ad or not. I pay your favorite show's bills because people that I trust tell me that you watch my commercials. If I found out that you were not watching my commercials, I would stop wasting my money on you, and your show would die.

Are popular Sci-fi shows canceled because they are more expensive? Probably, the return on investment for special effects and such is not so great when compared to a sitcom. But is the return on investment made even worse because a much larger percentage of their fans torrent, DVR, or otherwise remove themselves from the Nielsen numbers? More than likely.

Re:That's because they need MythTV

[BobMcD]

I'm glad you stopped by. Your cousins in the music industry weren't as thoughtful nor as considerate. Should you not wish to enjoy the same fate they are currently facing, please allow me to suggest you adapt.

You may want to find a way to collect revenue streams at the content level, perhaps from the cable company who gets a fairly large chunk of my household budget each month. You may want to incorporate advertising into your programming.
You may want to do any number of things that I have not yet thought of yet.

What you do NOT want me to do is to turn off my television set because it isn't worth the electricity it uses and the cost of keeping it up to the most recent level of 'D'. With World of Warcraft, Youtube, Slashdot, streaming Netflix, and many other popular internet-based time sinks at my disposal, your job and your millions are very much at risk. I can already consume a lot of content that does not annoy me with advertisements about vaginal cleansing products and there is already little you can do to prevent it.

In short, I am all you have left, and I am hanging by a string. Try not to piss me off.

Thanks, and best of luck to you!

Re:That's because they need MythTV

[bughunter]

Well, if the TV Execs and advertisers were smart (I know, I know, we're talking about TV Execs and advertisers, but bear with me), they'd tailor the commercials to the viewers and design their ads to be effective when viewed by someone with a "30-second skip" feature, who will probably only see a few frames of the commercial, randomly phased within the 30 second window.

There are things you can do, like make sure your logo is prominent throughout the length of the commercial, or keeping a hot, scantily-clad female in the frame at all times so that male viewers will back up to watch the whole thing.

I swear, some commercials are doing this already. I predict that in 10 years, all TV commercials will be either static billboard-type ads, or softcore porn vignettes with heavy product placement.

Re:I don't get why PVR-users watch recorded ads...

[93 Escort Wagon]

I don't understand why those with PVRs still watch the ads.

I enjoy ads that I find clever or interesting - for example, I love most of the ones Jack in the Box (a US hamburger chain) makes. Since I skip through the commercial breaks using my Tivo's 30-second skip function, I'll often catch just enough of an ad so I can tell if it's likely to catch my interest - in which case, I watch it.

If I had to estimate, I'd say I watch at most 15 percent of the commercials, though; and that's likely a high estimate.

I think the bottom line is: When I watch ads, I'm doing so for the same reason I watch a TV show - for entertainment.

Re:watching commercials

[Anonymous Coward]

Try the "pause" button, you can stop for a break whenever you want to.

Commercials

[ArcadeNut]

The only reason I wind up watching commercials is because I forgot I'm watching something on the DVR and I am allowed to fast forward through it! I must be getting old..

DVR increases ratings? DUH!

[businessnerd]

They say that DVRs have increased ratings for shows as if it's surprising. Isn't this the whole point of a DVR though? You record it because you would not have otherwise been able to watch the show in its regularly scheduled time slot. So instead of just plain missing the show, you record it and watch it later. Instead of having to pick between two shows where one will get watched and the other will get missed, you record them both, and they both get watched. In the latter, the DVR has increased your potential audience. I'm a little surprised about the commerical watching though. As a MythTV user, I skip commercials altogether without the need for any user interaction. However, in cases where the commercials are not skipped (like if I start watching a show fifteen minutes into the broadcast), it's about a 60/40 split as to whether I'll bother fast forwarding. Someimes I'm really that lazy where lifting my arm to pick up the remote seems like too much effort. Other times it's the perfect bathroom break. Even though MythTV skips my commercials and could potentially pause for a break whenever I want, I tend to do it when there is a commercial simply because the flow of the show dictates a pause for commercial. It's kind of weird to pause in the middle of a conversation and come back a few minutes later. It totally messes with the flow.

Re:I don't get why PVR-users watch recorded ads...

[Obfuscant]

I don't understand why those with PVRs still watch the ads.

Because you miss all the irony if you skip them. Like ads for Carl's Jr. or Jack in the Box during exercise shows.

The very best one was last night. Premiere of "Sex Addict Rehab With Dr. Drew." A facility full of sex addicts, men and women, models, rock stars, and an "adult video star". Not a single one of them sexually attractive in any way, but they're all sitting around talking about having sex with each other. The "adult star", knowing shes going to a facility to treat her addiction, tried sneaking in a dildo she called "Ron Jeremy", and a pair of knee-pads. Epitome of skank.

The major advertiser? Trojan. Not for condoms, but for women's mini-vibrators.

I don't know if it was sad or funny.