Well, would you let your brain simmer on this a bit.
American Idol, the famed singing competition that airs live numerous times per week when it's in full swing, was found to be the most timeshifted program in the USA in 2008. Granted, it's also the most watched show in the nation, but we digress. The significance here is that this tidbit, which was dug up by
The Nielsen Company, goes to show that live competitions and so-called "topical" programming aren't as immune to DVRs as networks would love to believe. The data found that "an extra four million viewers watched Fox's
American Idol in the seven days following the initial episodes." To us, the only true DVR-resistant programming is live sports -- the genuineness of the event just seems to fade when you're not watching in real time, but we can't say we've ever felt the same when watching Simon & Co. a few days after the fact.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
djmattyb @ Dec 19th 2008 8:13AM
Of course it is. You can watch a two hour episode in about 20 minutes if all you want to see is the singing.
Loban @ Dec 19th 2008 9:59AM
It's true what they say about live sports. I'll do it if I have to, but I'd rather not DVR a Bears game. There's just something about knowing that what you're watching is actually happening less than 3 hours away. It's like you're getting to cheer with the fans at the stadium.
daaper @ Dec 19th 2008 10:27AM
Plus there's always that risk that you're somehow going to hear the results before you get to watch it. Once I've heard the final score, I might as well just watch SportsCenter for the highlights.
Loban @ Dec 19th 2008 11:14AM
Exactly. My wife and I run into trouble because she's a Colts fans and I'm a Bears fan and they play at the same time all the time on Sundays. So not only do we first have to settle who gets to watch their game live (we only have one TV), but we also literally have to tape a piece of cloth across the entire bottom of the screen so as not to accidentally see updates from the other game on the ticker. We also have to mute the TV and close our eyes during the game breaks so we don't see highlights of the other game. It sucks, it's a battle we fight almost every Sunday.
Miggity @ Dec 19th 2008 11:29AM
Daaaa BEARS!
Andy @ Dec 19th 2008 3:27PM
More accurate would have been a percentage timeshifted vs total views, then we would know which shows are most likely to be timeshifted, reality, sports...
OddyOh @ Dec 20th 2008 6:42AM
I have no problem timeshifting sports programming...used to timeshift hockey games all the time...no way I'd sit through all those ads. If I start watching an hour after puck drop, I can be "live" again by about 5 minutes left in the third period.