More than a third of all recorded DVR content is never viewed

Noted within a recent study conducted by Motorola Mobility, approximately 36 percent of all content recorded on digital video recorders around the globe is never consumed by viewers. In the United States specifically, forty-one percent of all content simply never gets watched. When asked why record the content in the first place, more than three fourths of the respondents said they record television shows and movies specifically because something else is on that they would prefer to view live. Seventy-two percent recorded content to collect an entire season or series of shows and sixty-eight percent record content to skip past pesky commercials.

In addition, the DVR is the source of annoyance in many households. Approximately 79 percent of respondents have been frustrated with hard drive limitations and women are often more frustrated than men when space needs to be cleared on the DVR hard drive to record additional shows. Sixty-eight percent of respondents said they had to delete content off their DVR due to a lack of hard drive space at least once.

While a portion of recorded content simply never gets consumed, that doesn’t mean consumers are shunning entertainment. According to the study, the average American watches approximately 23 hours of television shows per week in addition to six hours of movies. That means U.S. consumers spent approximately 17 percent of all the hours in each week watching video on a television, mobile device or computer. Globally, television viewing has significantly spiked over the past couple years. During 2011, the average consumer watched just 10 hours of television per week, but that has risen to 19 hours per week as of this year. The lowest levels of TV consumption are found within Sweden and Japan; specifically 15 hours of television shows per week and a couple hours of movies.

Interestingly, the television no longer dominates the majority of rooms within a home. While the television is still the primary screen within the living room, the bedroom is being taken over by mobile devices.

Although 36 percent of respondents are watching televisions in the master bedroom, approximately 46 percent have opted to watch video on smartphones and 41 percent are using tablets rather than the television. Respondents also admitted to watching shows and movies in the bathroom, sixteen percent using smartphones and nearly ten percent using tablets. In addition, the kitchen is a popular place to find tablet usage. 

In regards to entertainment consumption, tablet owners consume about 20 percent more movie content than non-tablet owners and are much more likely to use streaming video applications to catch up on television shows. Consumers with mobile devices are also increasingly interested in taking content on the go. Specifically, approximately 76 percent want services that allow them to load content onto their smartphone or tablet and watch it while away from the home. Of the 9,500 total respondents, more than half have downloaded a television show or movie to a mobile device. 

When it comes to social media engagement during programming, younger audiences are much more likely to follow and participate in social media conversations while a television show or movie is currently playing. Specifically, sixty percent of people between the age of 16 to 24 will interact with social media related to the programming while watching TV. In addition, respondents are more likely to recommend movies or television shows over social media when compared to talking to someone in person.