Re: DVR Having Significant Result in Ratings, Finally Being Calc

The way I understand it, DVR viewers were not counted intentionally because so many commercials were time sensitive and recorded shows may not be watched until after their expiration date.  Ratings relate to dollars spent by advertisers to have their commercials placed in time slots that will gather the most viewers.  Most DVR users will skip right past commercials, rendering viewing results essentially useless for their intended purpose. 

Studios don’t want their advertisers to know that even though the shows are being watched by a wider audience, the commercials are not.  An increase in shows being recorded by DVR may actually result in the show being canceled if the studios can’t get people to watch the commercials.  Lack of commercial viewers could result in advertisers pulling their support. which can kill a show licketysplit.  What you end up with is a lot more game shows and reality TV because they’re the cheapest shows to produce.

Even so, DVRs are getting into more households and the studios have to face the fact that they’re out there.  There’s little they can do to prevent people from skipping past commercials, although Tivo tried to slip that little feature past their DVR users a while back.  Needless to say it didn’t go over so well with Tivo owners. No doubt the studios will put some kind of spin on the viewing numbers, even taking DVR owners into account, that will have them coming out on top, which is good news for everyone.  It will be interesting to see how this affects future programming.