• by David Goetzl , July 18, 2007

A new report from Magna Global indicates about half of all viewing of prime-time broadcast programs by TiVo users is done via time-shifting, which means 70% of commercials are skipped in non-live or recorded viewing.

The research emerged from the Interpublic holding company's subscribing to TiVo's second-by-second viewing data, which tracks behavior of the estimated 4.4 million subscribers to the DVR service. (Magna is part of Interpublic.)

Data culled from TiVo users is not necessarily representative of the larger population of DVR users, since they are believed to be more upscale as well as tech-savvy early-adopters.

The Magna Global study also found that when viewed in time-shifted mode, the first ad and last ad in a commercial break have a higher-viewed rate than ads in the middle of the pod. That's not surprising, since--at least with the last ad--people who are fast-forwarding are readying for the return of the programming.

Separately, TiVo, which is trying to hold on to its subscriber base in the face of increased competition from cable and satellite operators marketing their own generic DVRs, has named a new CMO. Clint Richardson will report to CEO Tom Rogers in the role.

Richardson comes to TiVo from Nortel, where he also held the Chief Marketing Officer post.