Mascola Group

How DVR Shifts Show Ratings

The day that TiVo gained national attention as Miranda’s new obsession on Sex and The City, TV advertisers began to worry about the implications time shifting TV would have on their TV campaigns. What if viewers fast forward through commercials? What if they watch the commercial after a sale or promotion has ended?

Now in a time where 4 in 10 households have a DVR, there are big rating implications for TV stations and advertisers alike. In 3 days time, ratings for commercials lift by 44% in homes that have a DVR, and in prime time, 7.9 rating points. And these rating lifts are shifting what TV shows are really the most popular among viewers. Take Modern Family for example. While it trails popular reality shows “American Idol” and “The Voice” in the overnight ratings, it becomes the number one program when DVR playback is taken into account. Between that and the popularity of online viewership, TV execs are reminded of the importance of scripted programming vs reality TV.

And there’s a silver lining for TV advertisers: though in some circumstances viewers may be fast forwarding through commercials, they are generally more attentive and engaged in programming that they have recorded on DVR and are therefore more attentive and engaged in the commercials. DVR gives a whole new meaning to appointment television.

Here are some tips for adapting your campaign to make the most of this shifting TV universe:

  • Take the time shifted ratings into account and use Nielsen’s Live +3 Days or Live +7 Days ratings numbers
  • For very timely sales and promotions, look to news, sports and even reality shows, as viewership for these programs tend to be made up of a larger percentage of live viewers
  • Protect against fast forwarding by negotiating lead-in or lead-out positions, or better yet, bookends
  • Make sure your TV creative has your brand name and important information on screen long enough that they’re readable even if the viewer is fast forwarding
  • Try to make your commercial visually interesting to cause fast forwarders to stop and look
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2 Comments

  1. erik
    erik
    17 May, 2012 - 12:52 pm

    Honestly, I don’t need the TV to tell me what I want or need in the way of goods and services. I’m using the computer for that now, and my DVR is brilliant with the fast forward function. I usually watch my recordings the next day, so when a Dish coworker told me the new Hopper would have the Auto-hop feature, which lets you automatically skip commercials on prime time recordings, I was very happy. It doesn’t delete commercials, but hides them for later if I feel the need to watch commercials (never). Plus, I save time by being able to watch my hour long shows in about 40 minutes. I’m not interested in hearing how upset the networks and ad execs are; I’m interested in getting my TV on my terms.

    reply
    • Lauren Leitch
      Lauren Leitch
      22 May, 2012 - 11:22 am

      Thanks for your comment Erik. The consumer in me tends to agree with you, but I have a hard time believing the Hopper will be around for much longer. Dish is not the first to have this type of technology; remember how the networks put the kibosh on ReplyTV and others like it? The fact is good programming costs money, and if its not coming from ad dollars, its going to eventually come from the consumer’s pockets in subscription fees. Cable and Satellite can already cost upwards of $100/month and I doubt consumer’s thresholds are going to be higher than that. I’m not sure how this will all play out but one things for sure. Now that consumers have been teased with this option, the networks are going to need to work with cable and satellite companies to come up with a solution that’s acceptable to consumers. Otherwise we may all be watching PBS and low-budget reality shows!

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