Dialsmith

As a follow-up to this post I refer you to this article in The Hollywood Reporter regarding results of a new TV viewership study that includes data on DVR viewing habits.

Key stats:

DVR penetration is expected to be “6% of domestic TV households by year’s end”

“…after TV watchers start using their new DVR, the amount of time they watch television per week increases 24% from an average of 19.2 hours to 23.9 because the device reduces the need for irritating channel-surfing…”

“…even while skipping through commercials, only 33% of DVR users report that they rarely or never notice the brands being advertised…65% always or sometimes notice them”

“…nearly 55% of DVR users have found themselves rewinding or pausing a TV commercial in order to better understand the advertised product”

The article goes on to discuss how even though DVR watchers tend to fast-forward through ads, they don’t walk away from the TV like non-DVR watchers. So, even the passing imagery of an ad has more impact than no imagery at all. It also points out how advertisers are working to make ads more effective in reaching fast-forwarding DVR watchers by using such tactics as:

“…30-second ads that keep the brand logo or a discount offer on the screen throughout so that viewers who hit the fast-forward button might still get a clear sales or brand message; ultrashort commercials designed to end by the time users can grab the remote and fast-forward; and three-minute ads that masquerade as content, encouraging users to record them daily.”