Lost

[BDBohnzie]

yeah, that's my worry...the execs rushing an ending because of falling ratings. If they move the damn show back to 9pm, they'll get some of their viewership back. But I wonder if their ratings include those who TiVo or DVR, like I do? I know several people who record the show because it's on a bit late...

[ArtMonkDrillz]

Originally Posted by BDBohnzie

But I wonder if their ratings include those who TiVo or DVR, like I do? I know several people who record the show because it's on a bit late...

I was thinking about that too. I think that sort of thing also spoils the show for people because there are not commercial breaks. My sister and her boyfriend just started watching the show, getting caught up through the DVDs and online, and they can't stand watching the normal broadcast because of all the damn commercials.
I wonder if network shows are going to start following things like TiVo stats and DVD sales as closely as they follow weekly ratings (for first run episodes) in the future. I feel like they'd have to or they'd risk cancelling a popular show who's viewers watch in a different format.

[FRPLG]

Originally Posted by ArtMonkDrillz

I was thinking about that too. I think that sort of thing also spoils the show for people because there are not commercial breaks. My sister and her boyfriend just started watching the show, getting caught up through the DVDs and online, and they can't stand watching the normal broadcast because of all the damn commercials.
I wonder if network shows are going to start following things like TiVo stats and DVD sales as closely as they follow weekly ratings (for first run episodes) in the future. I feel like they'd have to or they'd risk cancelling a popular show who's viewers watch in a different format.

Nielsen does some sort of DVR/TiVo tracking but I am not sure how much stock networks put into it. They by in large don't like the DVR/TiVo revolution for obvious reasons and seem to have stuck their collective heads in the sand mostly. Some shows are starting to introduce easter eggs in commerical breaks as a way to have viewers watch them but those efforts have been few so far. Actually Lost did it a couple times.

[BDBohnzie]

Originally Posted by ArtMonkDrillz

I was thinking about that too. I think that sort of thing also spoils the show for people because there are not commercial breaks. My sister and her boyfriend just started watching the show, getting caught up through the DVDs and online, and they can't stand watching the normal broadcast because of all the damn commercials.

That's exactly how I started on the show. Wife and I started watching right before Season 2 started...so we watched Season 1 on DVD, and the first several episodes from DVR. Then once we caught up, it made it extremely hard to watch with all the commercials. So now, we DVR, and start it around 20 minutes in. That way we can FF through the commercials, and still be done around the same time.

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by ArtMonkDrillz

I wonder if network shows are going to start following things like TiVo stats and DVD sales as closely as they follow weekly ratings (for first run episodes) in the future. I feel like they'd have to or they'd risk cancelling a popular show who's viewers watch in a different format.

But if I'm a network executive, I don't really want to count people who record the show and watch it later (like TiVo viewers). They skip over the commercials anyway. The only viewers I want to count are the ones who watch the live telecast, because they're the ones subjected to the commercials.

The ad revenue is directly tied to the number of eyeballs watching the ads.

[ArtMonkDrillz]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

But if I'm a network executive, I don't really want to count people who record the show and watch it later (like TiVo viewers). They skip over the commercials anyway. The only viewers I want to count are the ones who watch the live telecast, because they're the ones subjected to the commercials.

The ad revenue is directly tied to the number of eyeballs watching the ads.

Good point

[SmootSmack]

Pretty timely article

Viewers Fast-Forwarding Past Ads? Not Always - New York Times

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by TAFKAS

Pretty timely article

Viewers Fast-Forwarding Past Ads? Not Always - New York Times

Wow nice find. Runs contrary to what I was thinking. I have TiVo, and I typically watch every show the day after it airs, or at the very least, I tune into my programs 20 minutes after the start time so I can skip through all the ads. I try to avoid the commercials as much as possible.

I figured everyone did the same thing, seems like it defeats the purpose of having a DVR if you're going to watch the ads. But that belief has been debunked by your article.

This post was really one big excuse to use the word "debunked."