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TiVO = More TV

Posted May 9, 2008 by Richard Mullins

Updated May 9, 2008 at 05:19 PM

People say they watch less TV once they got TiVo or other DVR doodad. Good for them, I guess.

But turns out most people end up watching more TV when they spring for a DVR, not less.

Ratings guru Nielsen, who knows a thing or two about TV watching, crunched some numbers from actual TV set-top box data and found TV viewing rose 3 percent at 9 p.m. and five percent at 11 p.m.  (Yes, your cable box probably records every click of your remote control.) That might not sound like a huge increase, but consider that people already watch about 5-6 hours a day.

Other fun stuff Nielsen found:
—The heaviest DVR time shifters are middle-income women, 18-49 who recorded about half the TV they watch. Hooray for HGTV and FoodNetwork.
—People pulling down $100k paychecks shift the least, just 10 percent, but they almost all have HDTV, so it looks real nice when they do.