The majority of television viewers with personal video recorders (PVRs) often do not watch the commercials, according to an ongoing study by Jack Myers Report.
In what is an increasingly worrying trend for the media and advertising industries, Myers’ survey has again shown that only a small minority of PVR users reguarly watch the ads that surround the programmes. An earlier wave of the study reported that around two thirds of PVR owners skip through all or some of the commercials (see
Only 20% Of US Viewers ‘Likely’ To Pay Attention To Ads, Shows Survey).
Consistent with the first wave of the study, 34% of PVR users say they skip through most commercials and 27% say they skip through all commercials, giving a combined 61%. The survey also shows that around 11% of US households now own some type of PVR technology, such as TiVo.
This research comes as TiVo reports a doubling in the number of new customers in the second quarter, as compared to the same period last year. The group has optimistically forecast that it will break the one million customer level by the end of this year and is reportedly in discussions to supply a branded version of its service to cable operators, in a move which could provide a significant boost its reach.
These developments highlight the challenges to programmers, marketers and media planners in the face of what appears to be an increasing likelihood of ad-avoidance.
However, Sean Badding, an analyst with the Carmel Group, believes that the traditional advertising model will not begin to change – even moderately – until there are at least five million PVR homes in the US, according to a report from MediaPost. This five million mark will not be reached until 2005 at the earliest, according to the analysts’ estimates.
By year-end 2008, a quarter of all US homes (28.6 million) are expected to have a PVR device, according to Carmel Group’s forecasts.
A more positive indicator, from the ad industry’s point of view, comes from a recent UK survey by Media Planning Group, which found that two-thirds of people would not be willing to buy a PVR just to avoid the commercials (see Viewers Not Interested In Paying To Avoid TV Commercials).
