Nielsen has begun measuring playback on digital video recorders, and the first results are handing a big lift to some of TV's top shows.
As expected, the biggest hits and series in brutally competitive time slots are among the most frequently "time-shifted": Grey's Anatomy, Lost, Survivor, House. Of the 18.8 million Lost fans for last week's season opener, 1 million — or more than 5% of the audience — watched the show later Wednesday night.
And NBC's The Office had the biggest percentage of delayed viewers: The show's ratings spiked nearly 7% when viewing later Thursday night is counted, and more than 11% from viewing up to a week later.
House gained 1.4 million viewers, or 10.5%, from tardy fans up to seven days after its Sept. 19 episode, and the Grey's season opener grew 8%, adding 1.8 million who watched CSI or did something else instead on Thursday night.
The ratings lifts are even more startling considering that only 12% of homes have DVRs, according to unofficial Nielsen estimates, and they account for just 9% of Nielsen's ratings sample.
"Those people watch these shows at a much higher rate than the general population," CBS research chief David Poltrack says.
Initiative Media's Stacey Lynn Koerner calls the ratings jump "a big shift. It comes from multiple options, with more shows in competitive time periods that people want to watch. It's a great validation for television."
And it's part of a widening circle of viewing options that include streaming videos or iPod downloads.
When recorded, water-cooler shows such as Grey's and Survivor are most often watched that night; other series (House, CSI) get their biggest bumps days later in the week. Yet viewers almost never record newsmagazines, game shows, Spanish-language telenovelas and sports events.
And while Nielsen expects the ratings lift to accelerate by year's end, when its sample of homes will match the proportion of DVR households, .......s can't yet profit from their newfound gains: After advertisers resisted, .......s backed off plans to set ad rates that factored in DVR ratings.
This is freaking sweet. Maybe that's why Raw's number is going up. So many people must tape it and rewatch it later.
Doesn't that also kill the theory that .......s think its best to put all their best shows against each other seeing as people are watching them all anyway. (and skipping the commercials.)
Anyone that doesnt have a DVR should REALLY invest the 10 bucks a month. You wouldnt believe how much time you save and you never miss a thing.
Get it !!
Do it !!
Do it !!
It's about time......now bring on his next fued....
^ You save time cause you can fast forward through things. Also, you can do stuff your normally do, and not have to stay home and wait for a show. You can simply watch it whenever you have a chance. Shit you could sit there and watch it at 6am before work if you wanted. It's great. I just got this, and it is beyond awsome...
10-12-2006, 12:55 AM
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