PVR owners watch more commercials, not less

Davenetics points at a new study that supports something I've been thinking about for a while now. This report is showing results that while PVR owners are fast-forwarding through many commercials, they're at least watching them, instead of changing channels and avoiding them altogether, as non-PVR owners often do.

Personally, I find myself watching at least one commercial per half hour of recorded content simply because it looked interesting during fast-forward. The popular industry folklore is that TiVo is killing the 30-second advertisement market, when my personal habits and this study contradict that. [thanks Dave]

Comments

[Xrlq]

I wonder if they included DVRs that allow you to zap 30 second segments completely rather than fast forward through them. I use Dish PVR, and almost never see a TV commercial at all, except for the tail end of the last one on any commercial break; and then only if I've first overshot the break and have to "zap" backwards.

[MegaZone]

TiVo does allow you to zap them too - and I do. But once in a while a glimpse of an ad makes me stop and watch - not often though.

This is a repeated debate on TiVo forums - some people swear FF is better, others prefer 30 second skip.

[Xrlq]

Really! When did TiVo add the "zap" feature?

[Scott Johnson]

While I also watch commercials every so often on my DISH DVR, I know that I watch FAR fewer commercials with this thing than before I had it.

[Lex Friedman]

TiVo's had 30 second skip for a while. You have to enable it with a remote control hack.

I believe that, while playing recorded content, you press select-play-select-3-0-select, but that's from memory.

[W. Ian Blanton]

And one more reminder to myself why I won't buy another PVR until I can get the same Commercial Advance feature I have with my ReplayTV 4504. I almost never see commercials; first 2 seconds, jump icon, last 1 second.

More importantly, it's created a real dislike for commercials in my (now 6) daughter.

Are there any other units out there that do this? Since DNNA doesn't seem like they're gonna put this back in, and I hear that some people figured out how to add CA back in, but I'd like to see someone fight the "good fight"

[marc b.]

Do you think this will change the way commercials are made? Should we start to expect commercials that hold a solid graphic for a longer period of time, thus allowing an impression to be made on someone forwarding through the commerical at a high rate of speed? I don't think this will happen right away but as more DVRs are put into use, it will be something to watch out for and take notice of.

[Will]

More likely, comercials will change from being 30 seconds to something a little more arbitrary.

[Jason Shindler]

I think this will lead to more in-program product placement ("Ahhhh" after sipping some Diet Coke). At least now, you know a commercial is a commercial. When they get meshed together, it's hard to tell.

[Kesey]

What kind of bs is this article. I haven't watched a single commercial watching a show off of TiVo. Even if you FF through one commericial everytime you are watching a TiVo'd show you are watching less commercials than you would have and I'd venture to say 99.99% of all TiVo subscribers FF through commercials.

[Michael]

Personally, I watch the commercials because I never know just when the show is coming back. And if I see one that I want to watch, I don't hesitate to do so.

I also tend to see more of the commercials at the beginning and end of the break. I am thinking those might be one they could charge more for.

[William Frantz]

Anybody ever think about the impact of the TiVo Effect (tm) on the Civil Defense warning system? If you never watch live TV then all that "we interrupt this broadcast" crap is ineffective. By the time you see the CD warning your city is already blown to bits.

I don't watch DVR ads. 30 second skip is great! Advertisers are seriously screwed. There is no future for commercial breaks and infomercials. I have a HDD full of commercial free content that I actually want to watch even at 3:00 AM.

My biggest problem is that when there are hot new series on TV, I don't see them. What's "Alias"? What's "24"? I might like these shows but I never even see the promos for them.

[michel kleistra]

A study with eyetracking has found out that, when people speed up the commercial, the brain is still capturing the images and processing the commercial.

[Sergi]

I must agree with you. I don't own any PVR, still with my old VHS videotape, but as I almost don't see TV, when I'm fast forwarding something I've recorded, like "The West Wing", I always found in the 10 or 15 minutes commercial gap one or two commercials interesting enough to stop, rewind, and watch them.

[James]

I own a Toshiba SD400 with basic tivo capabilities and I usually only record a few shows. For some reason I find that I am available during the times I want to watch the few shows that I like. So I end up watching live TV most of the time and consequently end up watching some of the commercials as well.

[Pepijn]

I use MythTV. Not only does it allow you to skip 30 seconds at a time, but it also detects commercial breaks and lets you skip them entirely with one button press! Works great. I haven't watched a single commercial since...

[Bob]

With Show|Nav on my ReplayTV, I never see those ads. Skips over all of them.

[ken]

i think the advertisers should put a steady image on one part of the screen and let it run through all of the commercials so you will see it why you fast foward. that way normal viewers will just watch the commercials as usual and tivo users will still see an ad also.