• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, July 5, 2004

Viewers Using DVR to Save Time vs Shift Time

A recent survey of digital video recorder (DVR) users conducted by Lyra Research found that delayed TV viewing behavior challenges conventional distinction between "live" and "recorded" program viewing.

Steve Hoffenberg, Lyra Research's director of electronic media research, says "A typical example would be a DVR user who sits down in front of the TV 15 or 20 minutes into the broadcast of an hour-long show. The user starts watching at the beginning of the recorded show and, as each commercial break commences, fast-forwards past the ads. By the time the show is over, he or she has caught up to real time and is watching live."

Programs Watched with Delay to Skip Ads

Percent of Programs Started Late	Respondents
0%	17%
1-20%	24%
21-40%	10%
41-60%	17%
61-80%	12%
81-99%	10%
100%	10%

Source: Lyra Research

Respondents said they delayed watching programs for an average of 43 percent of the television shows they watched while the programs were broadcast. Hoffenberg comments, "As opposed to recording with DVRs for time-shifting, this behavior is clearly oriented to time-saving, with commercials constituting the expendable time. This has important implications for the TV-advertising industry beyond the ad-avoidance issues usually raised in discussions of DVR users' behavior. These people are effectively telling advertisers, 'Don't waste my time.' "

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