DVRs Boost TV Watching

A new report from Nielsen shows DVRs people actually spending more time in front of the tube with DVRs, but at different times.

Naysayers may preach that DVRs are the beginning of the end for television as we know it, but a new report by Nielsen indicates that the time-shifting devices have actually extended the amount of TV people are watching. Nielsen’s numbers show people watching television further into the night with DVRs, when prime time programming has wrapped up.

The company compared its figures from November 2005, before it measured DVR homes and when penetration was low, to figures from November 2007 when both of those factors had changed. It found a three percent spike in viewing at 9:00 PM and a five percent spike at 11:00 and midnight.

“DVR playback has added to TV usage, particularly during the most watched hours of the day, as viewers take advantage of their ability to watch their favorite shows according to their own schedules,” said Nielsen’s senior VP of insights analysis and policy, Patricia McDonough, in a statement.

Besides turning up facts about the amount of television people watch, the report also uncovered what programs are most frequently time shifted using DVRs. According to Nielsen, dramas, talk shows, soap operas and reality TV shows are DVR favorites, while users prefer watching news, sports and movies live.