• by David Goetzl , April 13, 2007

The Tampa Bay area has the highest DVR penetration among approximately the top-60 markets, according to Nielsen. While the national average is 16% in those markets, the Tampa DMA has a 26.6% penetration. While Tampa leads, another Florida DMA has the lowest penetration: Miami at 7.9%.

The difference is striking, considering that Miami and Tampa have at least some similar characteristics. Both are in Florida with a high level of retirees and rank near one another in the DMA countdown, with Tampa the country's 12th-largest (it also includes St. Petersburg and Sarasota, Fla.) and Miami/Fort Lauderdale the 16th-largest. But factors such as the number of satellite homes and the aggressiveness of cable operators--including lowering pricing--in marketing DVRs probably have an impact. Bright House Networks is a leading cable operator in the Tampa area.

On one level, it could be surprising that a Florida market has the highest DVR penetration--which differs from usage levels, of course--since the warm weather might encourage people to spend more time outside rather than in watching TV.

Nielsen began tracking DVRs in local markets in May 2005 and will release some market-by-market universe estimates this May. On other Nielsen topics, the company is rolling out local people meters beyond the current top-10 markets, and plans to be in the top-25 within two years. Plans also call for use of "mailable meters" to replace diaries in markets 60 to 125.

The company is also attempting to gauge "two-screen" behavior--how people use the Internet and watch TV simultaneously--by combining data from its NetRatings service and TV panel, according to Chairman-CEO Susan Whiting.

Speaking Thursday at the Television Bureau of Advertising's annual marketing conference, Whiting also said Nielsen will have the technology to provide commercial ratings for local markets, but "the marketplace will decide" whether they are rolled out--in other words, will the buying and selling communities want to pay for the implementation.

Although Nielsen is ostensibly neutral, Whiting weighed in on what might happen in the coming upfront in the hotly debated area of whether buyers will pay for DVR-enabled viewing. Last year, deals were done based on "live" viewing only, meaning that buyers didn't risk paying for ads skipped.

But networks this year are pushing to receive compensation for at least some DVR viewing, perhaps viewing that occurs with the devices in the 24 to 48 hours after the linear broadcast. Whiting said a significant level of time-shifted viewing occurs in the 24 hours post-broadcast, Nielsen data shows.

"I would be surprised if everyone agreed on 'live only,'" Whiting said.