Online and DVR audiences for the three Tina Fey skits on "Saturday Night Live" spoofing Sarah Palin were twice the size of the original television audience, according to data released Friday by Integrated Media Measurement Inc. (IMMI), a provider of consumer behavior and audience exposure data to media companies and advertisers.

Among all the people who saw at least one of the three SNL sketches, 33% watched it on television during the original broadcast and a staggering 67% watched after the original broadcast either online or on a DVR.

"This is the first time we've seen delayed viewing numbers this big," said Amanda Welsh, head of research for San Mateo, Calif.-based IMMI. "Usually it's the other way around, with the overwhelming majority of viewing occurring during the actual broadcast."

Delayed viewing surges when there is a lot of after-the-fact buzz about a segment that aired on television, Welsh said. "Because of the multiple media platforms available to consumers, it is becoming increasingly easier to propagate viewing around the world--which, as was the case here, far exceeded the original viewership," she added.

The study was implemented through a research panel built by IMMI that mirrors U.S. Census results for fundamental demographics in key markets. IMMI provides thousands of panel members in key markets with a mobile phone, asking them to carry it with them wherever they go. The mobile phone is equipped with a technology that creates digital signatures of all the audio media (television, radio and movies) to which it has been exposed. IMMI can determine viewing audiences, as well as certain types of consumer behavior, based on a timeline of when the media was viewed or heard.

Incidentally, SNL's version of the vice-presidential debate was as close as many viewers came to watching the real thing. Of the viewers who watched at least one of the SNL sketches, 56% never saw the actual vice-presidential debate.

This news story is important. I recommend that everyone read it.