AfterDawn: Tech news

Nielsen: DVRs behind TV show viewer drop

Written by James Delahunty @ 01 Jun 2007 4:13 User comments (15)

Nielsen: DVRs behind TV show viewer drop Nielsen Media Research said on Thursday that digital video recorders (DVRs) are a leading reason for the slide in television viewing this year. Many of the top U.S. shows, including Grey's Anatomy, American Idol and CSI saw their ratings drop off this Spring. Following questions from NBC, Nielsen began an investigation into the possible factors behind the unexpected drop.
The research is almost complete, but Nielsen left slip some of its findings so far. "DVRs appear to be the largest factor in that," said Pat McDonough, Nielsen senior VP planning policy and analysis. Other interesting factors behind the falling ratings that Nielsen has found are the difference between an Olympic year (2006) and a non-Olympic year (2007).

There was also a higher number of repeat programs this spring than usual.

Source:
Yahoo (Reuters)

Previous Next  

15 user comments

11.6.2007 04:41

T-minus 1 week before we hear of a joint venture with NBC and MPAA/RIAA to reap benefits from DVR sales. UGH

Seriously though I am surprised those two groups have not attacked the DVR industry because I can pull hours and hours of movies and audio from my DVR.

21.6.2007 05:56

Doesn't a DVR system still need to "watch" the TV show in order to record it? They are just up in arms about losing advertising revenue to new media, because they all know that we just fast forward through all the crap.

31.6.2007 05:57

Originally posted by Krmnnghia:
T-minus 1 week before we hear of a joint venture with NBC and MPAA/RIAA to reap benefits from DVR sales. UGH

Seriously though I am surprised those two groups have not attacked the DVR industry because I can pull hours and hours of movies and audio from my DVR.
Don't worry, they'll get it. Here in Finland, we already pay a copyright levy on DVR devices, based on their HDD size [i](no matter that most DVR devices wont allow transferring the data to PC and that the TV companies have already paid the copyright fees for the shows they air..).

41.6.2007 07:28

Originally posted by SProdigy:
Doesn't a DVR system still need to "watch" the TV show in order to record it? They are just up in arms about losing advertising revenue to new media, because they all know that we just fast forward through all the crap.
exactly.. when im recording channel 775... my box is "tuned" to 775.

51.6.2007 07:50

My biggest gripe with this is why do they allow companies to make products that can record if they are going to complain about that shit later its kinda retarded. Its almost like selling a candy bar to a kid and saying you can eat it but dont swallow. LoL Then they sit around falsify number or stats or whatever then create bogus articles to make it look as if they are losing out when they either still getting the same profit or more and they want even more from you.

61.6.2007 08:49

Originally posted by spydah:
My biggest gripe with this is why do they allow companies to make products that can record if they are going to complain about that shit later its kinda retarded. Its almost like selling a candy bar to a kid and saying you can eat it but dont swallow. LoL Then they sit around falsify number or stats or whatever then create bogus articles to make it look as if they are losing out when they either still getting the same profit or more and they want even more from you.
Pretty much. If my DVR get's too expensive, I'll just build one myself I guess.

71.6.2007 08:56

Quote:
Originally posted by spydah:
My biggest gripe with this is why do they allow companies to make products that can record if they are going to complain about that shit later its kinda retarded. Its almost like selling a candy bar to a kid and saying you can eat it but dont swallow. LoL Then they sit around falsify number or stats or whatever then create bogus articles to make it look as if they are losing out when they either still getting the same profit or more and they want even more from you.
Pretty much. If my DVR get's too expensive, I'll just build one myself I guess.
+12345

81.6.2007 08:58

We live in the greediest satiety they are always looking for a greater profit when they are getting more then what they deserve for their products.

This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 01 Jun 2007 @ 12:54

91.6.2007 13:28

Quote:
Nielsen began an investigation into the possible factors behind the unexpected drop.

lol, okay, between the three of the shows named, Grey's Anatomy snowballed into a sobbing pit of intern whores and ridiculous character asassinations and CSI and American Idol are just many seasons too many. and they have to "investigate" as to why there's a drop in ratings? lmao.

on the other hand, NCIS is on the rise, woot. what a show. i wonder what other shows dropped.
This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 01 Jun 2007 @ 1:34

101.6.2007 19:53

People do have lives outside the box in their homes. Hence why they record their shows and watch them at a time that is suitable to them.

111.6.2007 20:06

Ah the teller of the cards is getting a vision...............




I see...... I see..... Yes that is it a new campaign by the mafiaa to remove all the fast forward keys from all devices or wait is it try and put the genie back in the bottle by banning all recording devices.


whew I need an aspirin!

121.6.2007 21:20

Quote:
[quote]Nielsen began an investigation into the possible factors behind the unexpected drop.

lol, okay, between the three of the shows named, Grey's Anatomy snowballed into a sobbing pit of intern whores and ridiculous character asassinations and CSI and American Idol are just many seasons too many. and they have to "investigate" as to why there's a drop in ratings? lmao.

on the other hand, NCIS is on the rise, woot. what a show. i wonder what other shows dropped.[/quote]exactly i was a huge fan of greys, but its just become ridiculous, its not just a love triangle anymore its just one big orgy

once again big companies expectng us to gobble up any crap that is put out there because we are told to

132.6.2007 00:29

CSI is limping along NCIS was cool now its kinda so so its still a bit better than the other CSI knock offs new york sucks the most.

Bewteen the crappy TV shows and multi ad breaks I gave up on TV the net is much more better :X

as a anime fan I find fan subs to have the best balance in translation while domestic dvds tend to market to everyone but anime fans.

1419.7.2007 19:42

DVR is great, but all it really does is allow me to get more backed up in watching my shows.

1514.12.2007 07:09

Thank god for making Nielsen so SMART! The public has had the ability to record TV for decades. It is just that TV has become so poor nobody cares to make time to see the show when it is aired.

No one wants to admit that the 'Emperor has no cloths'! It is pirates and DVRs that are killing business, not that they don't make them like they used to. I believe they used to focus on making a great product and hope it made a profit. Now they they are only concerned about maximizing the bottom line. How could they not predict this was going to happen? Greedy lawyers turn EVERYTHING to sh1t and they are running everything! God help us!

It will get worse, just look how they treat the writers. When they ask to a percentage of the new sources of money, even if that number is 0. The industry claims the market is too complex for something that simple to work so we get to watch re-runs.

This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 14 Dec 2007 @ 7:13

Comments have been disabled for this article.

Latest news

VLC hits milestone: over 5 billion downloads VLC hits milestone: over 5 billion downloads (16 Mar 2024 4:31)
VLC Media Player, the versatile video-software powerhouse, has achieved a remarkable feat: it has been downloaded over 5 billion times.
2 user comments
Sideloading apps to Android gets easier, as Google settles its lawsuit Sideloading apps to Android gets easier, as Google settles its lawsuit (19 Dec 2023 11:09)
Google settled its lawsuit in September 2023, and one of the settlement terms was that the way applications are installed on Android from outside the Google Play Store must become simpler. In the future, installing APK files will be easier.
8 user comments
Roomba Combo j7+ review - Clever trick allows robot vacuum finally to tackle home with rugs and carpets Roomba Combo j7+ review - Clever trick allows robot vacuum finally to tackle home with rugs and carpets (06 Jun 2023 9:19)
Roomba Combo j7+ is the very first Roomba model to combine robot vacuum with mopping features. And Roomba Combo j7+ does all that with a very clever trick, which tackles the problem with mopping and carpets. But is it any good? We found out.
Neato, the robot vacuum company, ends its operations Neato, the robot vacuum company, ends its operations (02 May 2023 3:38)
Neato Robotics has ceased its operations. American robot vacuum pioneer founded in 2005 has finally called it quits and company will cease its operations and sales. Only a skeleton crew will remain who will keep the servers running until 2028.
5 user comments
How to Send Messages to Yourself on WhatsApp How to Send Messages to Yourself on WhatsApp (20 Mar 2023 1:25)
The world's most popular messaging platform, Meta-owned WhatsApp has enabled sending messages to yourself. While at first, this might seem like an odd feature, it can be very useful in a lot of situations. ....
18 user comments

News archive