one benefit of watching the DVR live plus seven number regularly, you don't need to do any studies or research to see that there is less same day DVR viewing occurring on the same day that shows air with 10pm shows than with earlier shows. And the data just backed up the intuitive notion that less people watch the 10pm shows on DVR the same night because they air later.
But a new study from TiVo suggests both live and DVR viewing of the 10pm hour are getting hurt because people are watching the shows they recorded at 9pm when those shows are on. It's hard to know how much this extends to the broader DVR universe because almost all DVRs provided by cable and satellite companies these days have at least two tuners.
My time shifting Lost by 20 minutes (and I also DVR'd Life) doesn't stop me from DVRing two more shows at 10pm (though obviously I would, if I had only one tuner). Unfortunately, however, the need to sleep ultimately does push DVR viewing of 10pm shows off a day or two.
Five years ago, I would've been very comfortable extending TiVo users behavior to all DVR viewers, but at this point TiVo makes up such a small percentage of the overall DVR base, I am not quite comfortable doing that. But MultichannelNews.com has some info on the study:
Nearly 60% of DVR users recorded broadcast shows airing at 8 and 9 p.m. in February, resulting in a notable decrease in programs recorded or viewed live in the 10 p.m. hour, according to an analysis by TiVo of its subscribers.
The DVR company compared primetime recording trends for ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox for the month, and found the 9 p.m. slot was the most heavily time-shifted hour with 59% of viewers recording shows, while the 8 p.m. hour was close behind at 58% time-shifted viewing.
Around 30% of the time-shifted viewing takes place within an hour of airing, according to TiVo. As such, during the 10 p.m. slot, 53% of DVR users recorded shows for later viewing and only 47% tuned in live.
Aw snap! So that’s why ABC hasn’t had much luck with Castle, Cupid, or Unusuals!
damn, that should’ve been my headline…
my Aunt and Grandparents recoder everything they watch and i have been starting lately at 10 i started to watch something and last night and fell asleep at like 10:15 so know i am starting to tape most stuff at 10 lately
Seems kind of obvious… If 65% of people DVRing Idol watch it the same night, it only makes sense that they are less likely to watch one of the 10 pm shows….and people with conflicts at 9 (watch one, DVR one) are more likely to watch their DVRed show than whatever is on at 10.
I think that its maybe the Midwest and Mountain regions don’t like their shows starting at 7pm and play catchup.
I love that prime time starts at 7 in the midwest instead of 8. Thinking about 10pm and later, that’s when I start to do any last bits of studying I might need for classes the next day, so live viewing wraps up nicely. On the other hand, I watch less at 7/7:30 than later (House, Scrubs, TSCC is it), so it’s less of an impact there. But Lost, Fringe, 24, Heroes, Office/30 Rock, and Dollhouse at 8 is perfect when I watch live.
And the trend will become even more pronounced when NBC concedes the weekly 10 p.m. slot to Leno. I, for one, intend to fill that slot with DVRed scripted drama.