Battlestar Galactica topped the list of shows getting the biggest percentage increase in viewership from DVR viewing for the year, and 8 of the top 12 shows were from cable networks.
We typically don't see lists by calendar year, nor do we see DVR ratings any longer for cable shows, so this is an interesting comparison of cable and broadcast programming. I'm surprised that there are so many cable shows since they are typically rerun multiple times after their original airing.
You can follow our regular rankings of DVR viewing for broadcast primetime shows here.
Top 10 “Timeshifted” Primetime TV Programs RANK Program Network % Increase in Viewership 1 Battlestar Galactica SYFY 59.4 2 Mad Men AMC 57.7 3 Damages FX 56.3 4 Rescue Me FX 53.2 5 True Blood HBOM 46.9 6 Stargate Universe SYFY 46.9 7 Sanctuary SYFY 45.9 8 Heroes NBC 45.9 9 Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles FOX 45.5 10 10 Things I Hate About You FAM 44.9 10 Dollhouse FOX 44.9 10 Melrose Place CW 44.9 Source: The Nielsen Company
*Primetime TSV%: Data from Jan 01, 2009- November 15, 2009, regularly scheduled programs. Percent increase in rating is based on absolute difference between Live Household Ratings and Live+7. A program must reach at least a 1.0 live+7 HH rating and have at least 4 telecasts.
via Nielsen Wire
See Dollhouse is a top 10 show!
Bet your sorry now Fox!
Is it just me, or is this whole list an homage to Buffy the Vampire Slayer?!
So at the top is a show which former Buffy writer Jane Espenson wrote for!
And then a show that former Buffy writer Marti Noxon wrote for!
And then the next two shows are from the network that once reran Buffy episodes!
And then there’s my sworn nemesis “True Blood”, an obvious Buffy ripoff!
And then there are those awful SyFy shows that have aired against Dollhouse, from the super-super-duper creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer!
And then there’s the obvious Buffy ripoff “Heroes”, which like Buffy features supersexy people dealing with weird creatures with strange powers!
And then there’s that dreadfully bad former lead-in for Dollhouse, which, of course, is from the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer!
And then, a show that’s just like Buffy was in high school, only without the vampires and magic and stuff!
And then the awesome Dollhouse itself, which, again, is from the creator of Buffy!
It is SOOOO obvious to everyone who matters that Buffy the Vampire Slayer has continued to impact every inch of TV to this day!
Dollhouse! Dollhouse! Dollhouse! Dollhouse rules! FOX drools! Dollhouse!
Dollhouse is on there for the same reason Melrose Place is on there. When your numbers are that low, it doesn’t take a whole lot of people to have a big percentage increase in viewers.
I’ve received a report that three more people have watched Melrose Place on their DVRs! That’s a 50% increase from the six people who watched it the first time around!
Especially given the shows on the list, I’m not surprised at all about the high DVR viewing % despite multiple airings because of the way DVR season passes work.
And at one point or the other, I had 8 out of those 12 shows on my season pass list.
But I’m sticking my tongue out at James Hibberd who insists broadcast network executives really do put a lot of weight in the BS % increase metric. Save perhaps (but not necessarily) Heroes, EVERY broadcast show on that list has been or will be canceled.
Would be nice if they had an absolute increase in ratings vs. a percent increase…
…because it’s the actual number that really matters.
But let’s look at that list again:
Fully half the shows were on Friday night at 8PM or later. Why is it a surprise that people DVR Friday night shows they like?
@Robert Seidman: Seriously?!
Your saying True Blood, Mad Men and Damages will be cancelled?!
I’m calling BS right now, that will never happen lol
LostAtSea: either you didn’t read what I wrote or it wasn’t very clear.
By “broadcast show” I meant shows that air on the broadcast networks. ABC, CBS, ABC, FOX and the CW…..
Though I do believe barring a ratings turnaround the upcoming season of Damages will be its last. Its ratings STUNK last season..
What I find so amusing about network executives who are all nervous that people aren’t watching their shows live or the commericals is, and I’m probably in the minority, I do see the commericals when I view recorded episodes on my TIVO.
I’m a Damages fan and when I watch the recording (usually next day) I may scan through the commericals but I am watching them (Cadillac, Geico, Subway, Bud Light, Becks, etc). When I watch the show live I walk away from the TV and take a break. Hence don’t see the commericals…
It’s obvious the ratings system is broken and truly needs updating to accommodate the needs of everyone and every medium.
Joss’s Biggest Fan, True Blood is just as good as Buffy was. In fact, Eliza Dushku is a fan of True Blood. Mad Men, Damages and True Blood are the 3 best shows on tv in my opinion.
By the way, when I say that True Blood is just as good as Buffy once was, I say that as a fan of Buffy.
Here’s another reason for recording shows like Mad Men and Damages.
Many folks enjoy shows with intriguing and complex story telling and viewers like my husband and I want to see and understand the details. And finally, if shows like Damages would air at a reasonable hour say 9pm and not at 11pm (mountain time zone)we would see it live more often.
Robert- Muliple airings don’t help, again when a show repeats it’s on too late (Midnight, 1am, etc.).
FX should move Damages to 9 pm on Sundays.
Parenthood, you get that that JBF wasn’t being serious right?
What’s up with so many DVR’ing Melrose? Will this help the show?
JS, it’s not that so many people are DVR’ing Melrose, it’s that so few people watch it to begin with that even a small amount of DVR viewers means a big percentage. And, no, this will not help the show.
I see another Syfy press release coming in the near future – ‘our shows are so good, people watch them over and over’. lol
I dont agree that the DVR numbers wont help MP, the bottom line is that it seems to be that this is what the CW Network is becoming famous for, Young people are recording and watching later, the CW has to know this, the advertises for the CW have to know this. MP DVR numbers have been very good since it started
Craig, you missed the point about percentage meaning nothing when the number you are starting with is so tiny. Melrose does not have impressive DVR numbers when you look at actual number of DVR viewers.
Edit: And even if it did, DVR viewers add nothing to a network right now. CW can be “known” for whatever you want to claim they are known for. But they can’t make any money off that.
DVR is just the next phase of recording shows you can’t watch when they originally aired, right? So when we used VCR’s back in the stone age did we all not just speed through the commercials to get to the show itself when playing them back? I sure did. So when the network suits tell advertisers as they are writtting the checks that they are investing in a “on the bubble” show which now magically has increased viewership, ergo their product line commercials, by 30-55%. Who can talk to about sitting in on one of those pitch sessions, I need new comedy material.
Craig, in one sense the CW is becoming famous for their audience declines outpacing those of their broadcast competition.
Not that they *want* to be known for that.