• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, October 12, 2007

95% of TV Viewing Live Even With a DVR in Every 5th Household

New consumer research from Leichtman Research Group shows that one in every five households in the United States now has a Digital Video Recorder, up from about one in every thirteen households just two years ago. Fueled by a continued push from cable and DBS providers offering combination HD/DVR set-top boxes, the study says that the number of US households with DVRs will grow to over 60 million by the end of 2011.

Other key findings include: 

• The mean household income of DVR owners is 33% above average 
• 53% of DVR owners say that they have an HDTV set 
• 45% of DVR owners record five or fewer programs per week 
• While 84% of DVR owners rate the ability to skip commercials as very important, only 8% of DVR owners say it is the greatest benefit of having a DVR

Based on a survey of 1,300 households throughout the United States, LRG says the growth of DVRs does not mean that the era of live TV viewing has ended. They estimate that 95% of all TV viewing in the US is still of live TV.

For more on Leichtman Research, please visit here.