Nielson throws its PVR / DVR advertising study into the ring
Do advertising companies really suffer that much from skipped ads due to PVR / DVR use? It all depends who you listen to. According to Neilson Media Research, about 1 million people used a TiVo or DVR to watch the April 18th episode of American Idol at least an hour after the original air time. Of that, a reported 800 000 skipped the ads (%80).
At first that number might seem staggering, but consider how many viewers watched that episode: 28.5 million. Out of that 28.5 million less than 5% used a PVR / DVR to watch that. The article linked above goes on to say that some advertisers are starting to talk about only paying for ‘live’ viewing. Will that really work?
I personally think these numbers aren’t what they are cracked up to be (whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing, I don’t know). For one, how can they track all of the do it yourselfer’s out there who have built their own PVR / DVR / HTPC? If it is a cable company DVR or a TiVo, then this stuff can be tracked, which probably accounts for these numbers. Secondly, how is this different than people who record shows on a VCR? Sure technology wise VCRs are quite old, but I am willing to bet there are a still a lot more VCRs out there than PVRs / DVRs / HTPCs.
Personally I believe that advertisers will have to start following other’s leads and get creative with advertising.
Found via Zatz Not Funny…
Technorati Tags: PVR, DVR, HTPC, TiVo, VCR
