Surprise - TiVo owners skip ads

In news which is not likely to shock anyone, a new report finds that people who watch television show on their TiVos almost always skip over the ads.

Nielsen Media Research announced last year that it would begin including viewers who time-shift TV shows using a TiVo or any other DVR provider in its ratings.

MediaDailyNews analyzed a copy of the minute-by-minute "commercial ratings" for some of the most popular shows on television, which allows broadcasters to compare results from viewers who watch standard TV and viewers who watch via time-shift. Looking at "American Idol," for instance, the publications determined that fewer than 1 percent of DVR viewers watched the ads.

"The data's unavoidable conclusion--that DVR users are aggressive ad skippers--is hardly ground-breaking stuff. Research showing that huge percentages of DVR users fast-forward through commercials has been around for years, but Nielsen's new minute-by-minute ratings provide more concrete evidence," the publication said.

Blog community response:

"They can make more money via paid downloads and in-show product placements anyway, so they should just stop with the ads. No one likes them. And soon, no one will be watching them at all."
--CrunchNotes

" The nets will still argue that watching ads in fast-forward still counts, but that's just ridiculous."
--Lost Remote

"Assurances are given to ad buyers by the networks during the upfront buying season. If the number of people watching the ads is significantly less than the number watching the show then it could mean a revisiting of that process, something the networks are loathe to do."
--AdJab