Some new data points last week on the inexorable march of DVRs into US households.
I am obviously quite focused on brand advertising (the majority of which is still done on TV), so I have been closely following DVR penetration and its impact on advertising ever since I got my own DVR in 2005. At that point, my TV consumption increased significantly (taking share from DVDs), but at the same time I stopped watching commercials. I would estimate I only watch 10% of the commercials embedded in the TV content that I consume. So more TV, but largely free TV; the only one getting compensated for the content I consume is Comcast. Great news for them, but not so great news for the (largely brand) advertisers who paid top dollar for my attention and whose advertising I saw at 20X its intended speed, on a different day/daypart, with no sound. So much for “sight, sound and motion”.
I am not alone. As I have written earlier, DVR penetration of all US households is now >30% and going to 80% by 2016. Articles like this one in MediaWeek make it seem like the level of conversation / realization is increasing. However, when we consider the current market projections and new, penetration-driving technologies like “Virtual” DVR, it’s hard not to feel like the brand advertising community as a whole should be a bit more concerned and thus a bit more active in its search for TV alternatives.
Stay tuned.
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