• by Wayne Friedman , December 17, 2007

Less than half of people who watch a recorded program fast-forward through the ads during playback, says a new study by Santa Monica, Calif.-based media buying company, Palisades MediaGroup.

Those results are somewhat different that other research concerning DVR playback, which touted that as much as 75% of commercials are fast-forwarded by consumers who have DVRs.

The Palisades survey, which was conducted during September and October, also noted that more than half of all DVR prime-time program playback is done within the same day it was recorded. In fact, three-quarters of all TV programs recorded by DVRs are played back the following day.

"I was surprised to see how much viewers watch during the same day," says Susie Thomas, senior vice president, director of research and insights at Palisades MediaGroup.

Palisades says this last bit of data is good news for TV advertisers such as retailers or movie companies, since they need to hit consumers with time-sensitive messages.

Of the top DVR recorded shows, Palisades notes, shows like CBS' "Survivor: China" see 58% of its playback among 18-49 viewers occur on the same day of its original broadcast. On the low end, shows like CW's "Reaper" have tallied only 27% of its playback on the same day.

The average prime-time network shows among adult 18-49 viewers was 2.5 for live viewing and 2.9 for live-plus-seven viewing--an increase of 16.7%.

Palisades says while Nielsen estimates DVR penetration to be at 20% of U.S. television households, up from 12% in January of this year, its impact on viewership remains small.