Study: 62 percent
time-shift TV shows
And they're doing it a lot more than three years ago
By Louisa Ada Seltzer
Aug 17, 2010
This season more people are watching HBO's "Entourage" on a delay than are watching the program live. And it's not the only show seeing big time-shifted audiences.
A new study conducted by International Communications Research for Comcast, the country's largest cable provider, finds that 62 percent of respondents have time-shifted television shows in some way, whether by using a DVR, watching online or watching video on demand.
And they're doing it more often. Sixty percent of respondents said they are time-shifting more now than they did a year ago, and 84 percent said they are doing it more than three years ago, including 50 percent who say they're doing it "significantly more."
The survey also finds that 60 percent of respondents say they own a DVR. According to Nielsen, 37 percent of households own DVRs.
The Comcast survey suggests that time shifting may be even more rampant than already believed. Last season, the Tuesday edition of "American Idol" was the most-time-shifted show on television, drawing an additional 5.6 million total viewers per episode.
Some broadcast shows saw their viewership rise by a third when DVR viewership was added in last season, led by "The Office," while some cable shows, like "Entourage," see even greater bumps.
The study simply underlines a greater point about the coming fall season. We won't truly know which shows are hits until we see the data for seven-day playback.
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