Sounds Like a Stretch
In this post we referenced how, partially due to the proliferation of DVRs (digital video recorders), more advertisers are moving parts of their advertising dollars to media outlets other than television. Today, Lost Remote links to an article about a study that suggests 96% of DVR viewers stick through commercial breaks as opposed to the 49% of non-DVR viewers (claiming the other 51% of non-DVR viewers flip around to other channels during commercial breaks). The caveat in the article that, in my opinion, makes the statistic worthless is, “96 percent of those viewers actually watch TV commercials when they become DVR subscribers, albeit in fast-forward mode.”
I have a DVR (TiVo) and fast forward through commercials at the fastest fast forward speed and I can tell you that I have absolutely no idea what any of those ads are. Even though the article claims that, “most fast-fowarders ‘notice’ TV commercials either ‘always’ (15 percent) or ‘sometimes’ (52 percent) while zipping through the spots,” I’d say “notice” is a pretty weak term and not one on which advertisers are going to want to spend millions of dollars.
