"They" say only 50% of DVR users skip the commercials. [Archive]

Brian Hanasky

11-02-09, 12:13 PM

I can believe this. I've been known to "watch" commercials sometimes .. especially when the TV is on in the background and I'm only half watching it.

I would agree with Doug. If the TV is on in the background I may be more inclined to look up and "watch" a commercial occasionally if it catches my eye like a movie trailer or something. Now if I am really watching a show then I will FF through the commercials.

Upstream

11-02-09, 12:15 PM

Interesting. At first I thought the high level of commercial watching was because people with DVRs still watch some shows live, and therefore can't skip commercials.

But the study is saying that 46% of viewers watching recorded programs don't skip commercials during playback.

I often don't skip commercials, but I can't give an explanation of why.

tcusta00

11-02-09, 12:16 PM

We watch some shows... gasp... LIVE. :eek:

CorpITGuy

11-02-09, 01:09 PM

I sometimes fall asleep and my wife throws something at me to get my attention and fast-forward through the commercials. :D

Just let her control the remote, you say? Not gonna happen. ;)

JayB

11-02-09, 01:12 PM

Personally, I always skip the commercials (except, of course, the one or two times a year I watch live). My sister, however, never, ever fast forwards though commercials. She says she "forgets" she's watching a recording when the commercials come on. Personally, I think it's how you think about TV - when I finally got old enough growing up that I could have my own TV to control, I also got Time Warner's old QUBE service with all it's little buttons and such to play with. So for me, TV has always been somewhat interactive. My sister though, at 13 years older than myself, grew up with passive TV: no remote, 3 networks, turn on the TV and sit staring at it for the next 4 hours. She simply doesn't see TV as something she has any control of - despite the fact that she loves her DVR and very rarely watches anything live as she works evenings. Just a different way of thinking.

oldfantom

11-02-09, 01:16 PM

If I don't skip the commercials, my wife will start clearing her throat and making "remote gestures" with her hands. At some point she will point out that I am not doing my job. With nods at Stan Lee, with great remote comes great responsibility.

RCY

11-02-09, 01:23 PM

My problem is I've gotten so used to skipping through commercials, or hitting skip back, that I want to do that in the car when I'm listening to the radio. ;-)

Other than the occasional movie or TV program trailer, no one in my house watches commercials anymore. I'm glad "they" beleive they are still getting 50% penetration with commercials. Keeps "them" from thinking about things "they" shouldn't...

Islandguy43

11-02-09, 01:24 PM

What's a commercial? It's probably because 50% of DVR users don't even know they have a DVR. :)

http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/patterson/59087/survey-nearly-half-of-dvr-users-still-watch-the-commercials/

Ya rite:lol:

Actually I skip the program only watch the commericals:grin:

TBlazer07

11-02-09, 01:25 PM

Not skipping them because you're not paying attention is one thing, but not skipping them while you are actively watching a recorded show is heresy. :lol:

hdtvfan0001

11-02-09, 01:48 PM

There are times I use the 30-second slip/skip alot when viewing, and other times....watch the commercials too.

It depends on the content, time of year, and creativity of the commercials.

So I guess I could eb in either camp, depending on what day you ask. :D:lol:

CorpITGuy

11-02-09, 02:00 PM

Stanley Kritzik

11-02-09, 02:07 PM

I fast forward through commercials -- example: the several very lengthy commercial segments on Mad Men.

Also, I slip/skip watching pro football. It's timed perfectly, so that after a tackle, one push and you're ready to go for the next play, and can skip the analysis, etc. Also, of course, a fast forward through the commercials, and I can cut a game just about in half. (The way the Packers are playing this year, it's a blessing!)

Stan

dreadlk

11-02-09, 02:13 PM

I can believe this. I've been known to "watch" commercials sometimes .. especially when the TV is on in the background and I'm only half watching it.

I do this also. Another reasons is that sometimes I am FF when I see an advert for a new movie or a product I am interested in, I then watch that advert and most times let the rest of them just play out.

rudeney

11-02-09, 02:32 PM

Unless we just have a temporary brain lapse, we always skip commercials when watching recorded programs. We have his and hers remotes, so it's unlikely that both of us forget, but it does happen every so often. Now, the big problem I have is that my wife fails to understand the real power of the DVR. She still likes to watch live TV. I can understand this when it's something like the Idol season finale, but for the drama shows we typically watch, I prefer to choose a saved show, even when something live is on that I want to watch. This allows commercial skipping, plus being able to watch three hours of broadcast TV in about two.

Scott Kocourek

11-02-09, 02:37 PM

Even if I wanted to watch commercials I would not be able to, my wife says something if we get more then 2 seconds into a commercial.

The only thing we watch live is football. Have to watch commercials then.

lflorack

11-02-09, 02:43 PM

Other than foorball, we almost never watch anything live. So I almost never watch commercials. Watching an hour show in around 40 minutes is great!

Richierich

11-02-09, 03:50 PM

I have watched a complete football game in less than an hour by fast forwarding thru commercials, instant replays, penalties, time outs, etc.

Karen

11-02-09, 04:18 PM

I hardly ever fast forward during commercials. I'm easily distracted and usually forget to stop the fast forward...

houskamp

11-02-09, 04:46 PM

toss up here.. depends on what else I have going at the time.. many times I just let the comercials run and check email/forums/get food...

Movieman

11-02-09, 04:46 PM

I would agree with Doug. If the TV is on in the background I may be more inclined to look up and "watch" a commercial occasionally if it catches my eye like a movie trailer or something. Now if I am really watching a show then I will FF through the commercials.

I also skip commercials but if its going to be a movie trailer that I havent seen I will watch it then continue to skip through.

MurrayW

11-02-09, 04:52 PM

I have watched a complete football game in less than an hour by fast forwarding thru commercials, instant replays, penalties, time outs, etc.I usually watch 4 NFL games at once, and 5 or 6 if I am really concentrating on using the 30 sec skip button each Sunday. I start out watching all the early games, then usually let the blowouts drop off and concentrate on only the close games. By the time the later games come on, I feel like I can relax since I don't have to try to keep up with so many at once. I figure if DirecTV can condense the games down to 30 minutes in the their short replays, I should be able to do the same.

When my wife accuses me of vegitating on the couch all day Sunday I point out how hard I am working the remote! :D

Steve

11-02-09, 05:01 PM

When my wife accuses me of vegitating on the couch all day Sunday I point out how hard I am working the remote! :D!rolling

I rarely watch a commercial, unless I'm very curious from having seen a glimpse. If I had to guess, I'd say I watch 1 in 200.

Richierich

11-02-09, 05:07 PM

When my wife accuses me of vegitating on the couch all day Sunday I point out how hard I am working the remote! :D

You are NOT VEGITATING on the couch because it takes alot of Mental as well as Physical Energy & Effort to Properly control a Remote!!! :)

Flugelman

11-02-09, 05:09 PM

Even when watching "LIVE" programs, I will pause at the beginning of a commercial break and converse with "She who must be obeyed". I get sensitivity points and skip the commercials. A twofer...:D

lwilli201

11-02-09, 05:12 PM

Just remember, without advertisements, commercial TV will die. I see that process already starting. When commercial OTA TV has to show 30 minutes of commercials an hour to break even, they are dead. Before that will be allowed to happen, the government will mandate that the ability to FF through commercials be blocked. DVR's may already have that ability built in.

rudeney

11-02-09, 07:35 PM

I have watched a complete football game in less than an hour by fast forwarding thru commercials, instant replays, penalties, time outs, etc.

Yeah, I do that sometimes, too, especially when the game is a little slow. I just have to be careful not to answer the phone!

Richierich

11-02-09, 07:44 PM

The actual play of the game is like 45 minutes and if you FFW 30 seconds after each play you will be at the start of the next play unless there is a Replay, Penalty or Commercial Break.

I have found the same to be true with Golf Telecasts. Unbelievable how much time is actually spent playing the game!!! There are 4 to 5 commercials in Golf during the last hour of Play on Sunday.

Movieman

11-02-09, 07:52 PM

Richierich

11-02-09, 07:59 PM

Just remember, without advertisements, commercial TV will die.

We have been doing this for years now and TV hasn't died!!!

Also, remember that for the VAST MAJORITY they don't even know what a DVR is even if they own one!!! Most people in a recent survey do not even know how to FFW thru a commercial or even know if they can.

Granted, the young kids are more knowledgeable but by then they will have embedded commercials in the stream so you have to watch it.

I remember when they said that VCR would be the Death Of Movies perse!!! Then DVRs and DVDs would kill Hollywood!!!

Hey, the Money just Floats somewhere else into a New Technology!!!

Also, CDs and the Internet and MP3s would kill the Music Industry!!!

shendley

11-02-09, 08:00 PM

My problem is I've gotten so used to skipping through commercials, or hitting skip back, that I want to do that in the car when I'm listening to the radio. ;-)

I thought I was the only one who did that!

But regarding commercials, they are purely a matter of choice now. If I catch a glimpse of something that looks interesting when I'm skipping through them, I'll back up to see what I missed. But I don't do that very frequently. Commercials are, for the most part, a thing of the past in my house.

Newshawk

11-02-09, 10:01 PM

I have watched a complete football game in less than an hour by fast forwarding thru commercials, instant replays, penalties, time outs, etc.

That's what the NFL ST Short Cuts are for! An entire game in less than 30 minutes. It's like watching the coach's clicker...

carl6

11-02-09, 10:05 PM

I use sLip (as opposed to sKip). While slipping through commercials, sometimes something will catch my wife's eye and we then have to go back and watch it. That of course exposes us to not only that particular commercial, but the others as well as we rewind/FF to get to what she wants to see.

Me, never watch them even if they are on live. I just tune them out completely. We can sit through a commercial and my wife will ask me something about it and I won't have a clue. I am totally immune to television advertising.

Truman

11-03-09, 01:52 AM

little story that's highly relevant to the subject at hand:

i suppose it was 3 or 4 months ago. i get this telemarketing call. and "they" tell me they're gearing up to air a new show and it's in the final test group phase. they tell me if i'm willing to sign-up, all i have to do is watch this dvd when it comes in the mail, and then i'll receive a follow up phone call the next day. a rep will ask me some questions and i'm automatically entered into a sweepstakes drawing, plus no matter what i get a $10 visa gift card to spend as i see fit. i figured the sweepstakes was a bunch of baloney, but hey ten bucks is ten bucks. so i went ahead and did it.

the dvd comes. i watch it. it's this god awful show with a guy that reminded me of jim belushi, and i'm pretty sure it was originally shot back in the early 90's and just never made it to air. and the funny thing was, there were commercials. and i didn't even think about it at the time. why would they bother to include commercials on the dvd if i'm supposed to be evaluating this show?

well duh! of course this company that called me was a media consulting firm and they wanted to know if their advertising was seeping into my grey matter. during the follow-up call, not a single question was asked pertaining to the show. i spent a half hour on the phone talking about the ads. for every commercial that ran on the dvd, there were about 10 questions where they wanted you to rank things on a scale similar to "from strongly disagree to somewhat disagree to somewhat agree to strongly agree."

and you know what? i couldn't, for the life of me, even remember the ads. not one. every question they asked, i had to pick the "not sure/no opinion" de facto option.

so yeah, i always make it a point to skip commercials with my dvr. and even if i somehow get snookered into watching them, they just don't do their thing. i'm not entirely sure how i managed to become so immune to advertising, but i'm happy i haven't let the hulu aliens (i've got my eye on you, alec baldwin!) eat my brain just yet.

:)

TBlazer07

11-03-09, 05:50 AM

Didja ever get your $10 ? little story that's highly relevant to the subject at hand:

i suppose it was 3 or 4 months ago. i get this telemarketing call. and "they" tell me they're gearing up to air a new show and it's in the final test group phase. they tell me if i'm willing to sign-up, all i have to do is watch this dvd when it comes in the mail, and then i'll receive a follow up phone call the next day. a rep will ask me some questions and i'm automatically entered into a sweepstakes drawing, plus no matter what i get a $10 visa gift card to spend as i see fit. i figured the sweepstakes was a bunch of baloney, but hey ten bucks is ten bucks. so i went ahead and did it.

the dvd comes. i watch it. it's this god awful show with a guy that reminded me of jim belushi, and i'm pretty sure it was originally shot back in the early 90's and just never made it to air. and the funny thing was, there were commercials. and i didn't even think about it at the time. why would they bother to include commercials on the dvd if i'm supposed to be evaluating this show?

well duh! of course this company that called me was a media consulting firm and they wanted to know if their advertising was seeping into my grey matter. during the follow-up call, not a single question was asked pertaining to the show. i spent a half hour on the phone talking about the ads. for every commercial that ran on the dvd, there were about 10 questions where they wanted you to rank things on a scale similar to "from strongly disagree to somewhat disagree to somewhat agree to strongly agree."

and you know what? i couldn't, for the life of me, even remember the ads. not one. every question they asked, i had to pick the "not sure/no opinion" de facto option.

so yeah, i always make it a point to skip commercials with my dvr. and even if i somehow get snookered into watching them, they just don't do their thing. i'm not entirely sure how i managed to become so immune to advertising, but i'm happy i haven't let the hulu aliens (i've got my eye on you, alec baldwin!) eat my brain just yet.

:)

TBlazer07

11-03-09, 05:53 AM

You can actually do that with some Sirius radios. :) My problem is I've gotten so used to skipping through commercials, or hitting skip back, that I want to do that in the car when I'm listening to the radio. ;-)

captain_video

11-03-09, 07:02 AM

I generally skip commercials unless something catches my eye and I want to check it out. Some commercials make me want to throw my remote at the TV (Coors Lite has to have the worst advertising firm in existence). If I'm watching live TV, such as during a football game, and a commercial comes on, I'll either hit pause and do something else for a few minutes so I can FF through it when I come back or I'll hit the Mute button to kill the sound.

I like to record all of my Ravens' football games so I can skip the commercials and halftime activities. I don't need the score recaps that are already flashed continuously at the top of the screen during the entire game. I usually wait until at least 15-30 minutes after the game starts before I actually begin watching it to purposely have the ability to skip commercials and such.

This past Sunday I tried something a bit different. I started watching the game when it began and then hit pause when a commercial break started. I then started watching an episode of Law and Order that I had recorded a few days before. I'd watch it for a few minutes or wait until it hit a commercial break and then switch back to the game. There was enough material recorded at that point to allow me to FF through the commercials during the game.

I'd continue watching the game until I caught up with real time and switch back to watching L&O again. This continued back and forth until the end of the game. At that time I had watched the entire game and also managed to watch an entire episiode of Law and Order, all within the 3-hour window scheduled for just the football game.

Richierich

11-03-09, 07:09 AM

I use Double Play to view 2 Football Games at the same time. When I come to commercials I hit Pause and then Toggle to the other game where I watch and Fast Forward until I run out of Buffer. Then I Toggle back to the other game and Fast Forward thru Commercials, Replays, Reviews, Time Outs, etc. until I run of of Buffer. I then Pause and Toggle back until I am thru with both games.

Can't stand the insanity of commercials but occasionally I have seen one I like.

Bob Coxner

11-03-09, 09:02 AM

The actual play of the game is like 45 minutes and if you FFW 30 seconds after each play you will be at the start of the next play unless there is a Replay, Penalty or Commercial Break.

Or a team goes into a damned no huddle offense. I've been using the 30 sec skip for football for years. You usually have to hit skip as soon as the play is whistled dead. Works about 90% of the time.

My mom never skips commercials. She knows how to do it but it's just not natural for her.

jedi34

11-03-09, 09:07 AM

Am I the only one who likes watching the Apple commercials? Any time I see one that I haven't seen, I'll wind back and watch it. That is the only commercial I'll watch with any consistency.

I used to tell people that a DVR is a productivity tool for couch potatoes. I've become so impatient, I can barely watch anything live. I regularly tune in to football games or basketball games, even the ones I live and die with, an hour or so late, just to minimize the dead time.

I also find myself thinking about hitting the thirty second skip button while co-workers are droning on about some things.

rudeney

11-03-09, 09:37 AM

You can actually do that with some Sirius radios. :)

Yeah, if you have a "replay" model. Right now, I have a Sportster 4 in my car and I'm enjoying that feature.

bobcamp1

11-03-09, 11:15 AM

I have watched a complete football game in less than an hour by fast forwarding thru commercials, instant replays, penalties, time outs, etc.

I watch NFL Replay on NFL Network. It does that for me. They put their own commercials in, and I skip them too. It's around an hour for each game.

ronton3

11-03-09, 11:54 AM

Many of us from the network only days used commercial time for food, bathroom, reading the paper, etc. Also back then the commercials were much more civilized, we didn't have to hear about, medicare supplementals, viagra, and other such enlightening topics for the 1000th time that week and there weren't nearly as many. Before I could dvr past them I used the mute button, not nearly as effective, but it did help.

islesfan

11-03-09, 02:44 PM

I ALWAYS skip commercials. I know that for every TV timeout in a hockey game, the delay is 90 seconds, so 3 skips and I'm back in the game. What was pretty pathetic in the article was the finding that TV watching is "passsive" and that people are sort of trained to sit back, tune out, and let the TV take control. I know that TV is passive, but come on, just how passive is a little disturbing. I understand letting commercials run in if watching in the background, but if you're actually WATCHING something and you are too apathetic to skip commercials, we're in more trouble as a country than we think.

This does explain the ratings differential between American Idle and Dollhouse, however!

islesfan

11-03-09, 02:47 PM

Am I the only one who likes watching the Apple commercials?

I think you might be. The whole "I'm a Mac" thing was cute for about five minutes. Later it just became juvenile. It reminds me of the old Atari v. Intellivision commercials. It is a case of a relatively tiny "competitor" really, really trying to contend with the big boys, and it just comes off as desperate.

P.S. I did switch from Atari to Intellivision back in the day (had to have the great sports games).

Jotas

11-03-09, 04:39 PM

I fall in that category. I'll watch only commercials that grab my attention but merely to find out what the commercial is about or if it's one of thos Apple commercials you know the ones that fib about a Mac not being a PC...but that's another story all together.

MartyS

11-03-09, 04:39 PM

Other than foorball, we almost never watch anything live. So I almost never watch commercials. Watching an hour show in around 40 minutes is great!
When the commercials come on I switch to another game.... using DP, naturally, and then I can FF through the commercials on the first game I was watching

Mark Holtz

11-03-09, 05:14 PM

I'm down to 5 shows (Amazing Race, Mythbusters, Morimito, Blood Plus, Storm Chasers). I also have AdBlock Plus (http://adblockplus.org/en/) on Firefox. So, the annoying part is when I just on a show which is already recording, and not having enough buffer time to skip over commercials at the end.

Look, it's the broadcasters and advertisers that have made television annoying to watch. For years already, we had to deal with the "bug" to remind us that yes, we are watching Lost on ABC and not Discovery Channel, or that Mr. Smith Goes To Washington is on TCM.com and not MTV. In additon, they have put in annoying banner ads at the bottom of the screen to remind us that we are watching Amazing Race, not Survivor, and that we should stay tuned to watch Three Rivers afterward. So, it is hard to get invested in a show nowadays when it can be pulled after three episodes.

And, then the commercials. I'm still paying off my car, so no interest in a new car. Don't drink beer. Yes, I am happy being ugly. No, not interested in a phone that isn't available through my provider. Not interested in switching providers. Yes, I can hear you now. Yawn, yet another show I'm not interested in. No, I am not interest in the twelfth consecutive very special episode of a show. Who the heck is this special guest star anyways?

Thank you, television. You went from being fun to watch to being that annoying uncle that shows up a Christmas. So, I have no regrets skipping over the 30 second annoyances.

Podkayne

11-04-09, 09:59 AM

No commercials at our house - all are trained to skip them since our earliest SD Tivo days. Nothing, I mean NOTHING, is ever watched live in our house.

We do have a new activity, however, which is to spy the product placement in the shows. CSI and the Denali's and Dell computers was a blast to notice. There are lots of product placements that integrate well in to shows...remember the Hyundai Genesis in '24' this year? House, Bones, they all have product placements.

I'd rather have those than the annoying ads any day.

Gocanes

11-04-09, 11:02 AM

Sometimes if we're watching a show but want to get something to eat or drink, we'll let the commercials run during the trip over to the fridge or pantry. It's easier than ff and pause. We end up "hearing" the commercials more than "seeing" them.

barryb

11-04-09, 11:05 AM

I can't remember the last "show" I watched live (movies excluded).

Time is my most important item.

Stanley Kritzik

11-04-09, 11:36 AM

You are NOT VEGITATING on the couch because it takes alot of Mental as well as Physical Energy & Effort to Properly control a Remote!!! :)

That's why guys control remotes: Mental -- for deciding what should/should not be seen by the family; Physical -- for having the strength and dexterity to push all those buttons. 'Tis best for the Mrs. to just stand by in sheer awe and admiration.

And, I get to sleep on the couch with the dog tonight. :D

Stan

TBoneit

11-04-09, 12:32 PM

hmmm... I have watched a few commercials that caught my eye as I was blasting past them.

OTOH I really hate the new trend of pushing musical artists in a show with their sometimes inappropriate music.

gregjones

11-04-09, 12:46 PM

We don't have the data that led to this conclusion. It could very well be that the 50% consist of people that watch some commercials. This could be reminiscent of the pervasive hunger statistic I hear once a week: "One out of every eight people in America goes hungry."

This is a classic example of misused statistics and push polling. The hunger statistic was derived by basically asking people if they have been hungry in the last two weeks. It makes no attempt to differentiate between people that just didn't get around to eating versus those that had no opportunity for proper nourishment.

An organization that has, as its primary client, advertisers has issued results that bolster the usefulness of advertising. The results are then conveyed in a medium dependent on advertising. No vested interest at all.

Tubaman-Z

11-04-09, 12:46 PM

If me and the Mrs are watching TV together (which isn't all that often - different tastes) and I dare to forget to FF through a commercial I hear "bloop, bloop, bloop" - her imitation of the TiVo sound effects to get to FFx3. I rarely forget.

On the subject of DVR-like radios, I've wanted a TiVo radio since I first got a TiVo. Podcasts have largely filled the gap but I would still like the ability to replay the last 1,2,3 mins or record something. There have been a number of technologies that I've seen come out as marketing materials but nothing that I've seen come to market (Sirius excluded - I'm referring to OTA radio). If you exclude the guide data and just supported manual recording it doesn't seem like this would be that tough to pull off. Pick a station, pick a start/end time - done. I would think that radio (either AM or FM) would compress quite well - so you wouldn't need a lot of storage. (OK - I am sufficiently off-topic...oops)

Mike Bertelson

11-04-09, 01:50 PM

My mother-in-law watches the whole recording...commericals and all. :)

Mike

Syzygy

11-04-09, 01:52 PM

Nielsen ... found that a full 46 percent of 18-to-49 year-old TV viewers with DVRs still watch the commercials...
One could interpret that to mean they still watch some of the commercials. I do too. I even backtrack to play an interesting commercial from its start (but then I trry to skip or ignore its closing argument! :D). It helps greatly that a lot of commercials are in HD these days.

rudeney

11-04-09, 01:58 PM

If me and the Mrs are watching TV together (which isn't all that often - different tastes) and I dare to forget to FF through a commercial I hear "bloop, bloop, bloop" - her imitation of the TiVo sound effects to get to FFx3. I rarely forget.

:lol: My wife usually relies on me to do the FF'ing as well, but often, she is watching something I don't like so I end up on the laptop either working or "surfing". last night was such a case and she was watching The Biggest Loser. I wanted it to be over as quickly as possible so we could get to something better to watch, so every time she'd for get to skip the commercials (which was every commercial break :D ) I'd snap my fingers at her and yell "SKIP!". She was not very amused. :nono2: