• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, November 1, 2007

It’s a cruel irony of the DVR age: The most highly-rated TV shows are also the ones most likely to be recorded for later viewing. Hits such as Fox’s “24” and ABC’s “Lost” have been among the most time-shifted shows on TV, according to Todd Juenger, vice president and general manager of audience research and measurement at TiVo.

Appearing on a panel at the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s Mixx conference in late September, Juenger said that also means those shows are subject to the most ad-forwarding during playback.  Overall, about 60 percent to 70 percent of TiVo users zap through TV spots.

Juenger noted that a “beautiful byproduct” of the DVR’s rise is that it’s opened the door to commercial ratings, showing marketers how many people are actually watching their ads. TiVo recently launched Stop||Watch, a ratings system that provides second-by-second program and commercial ratings for both live and time-shifted viewing. Nielsen’s commercial ratings—including viewers with DVRs who watch ads up to three days after initial airing—show only a slight dip from live ratings.