TiVo: Ads Skipped In Acclaimed Shows

by Wayne Friedman , September 24, 2009

TV commercials of critical and award-winning TV shows are typically fast-forwarded more than other programs in DVR homes.

TiVo's Stop||Watch ratings service shows that this year's lot of Emmy-winning shows posted higher fast-forwarding numbers of commercials -- as well as being time-shifted in general -- in TiVo households.

Viewers of Emmy-winning drama AMC's "Mad Men" fast-forwarded through commercials 83% of the time. This was against all drama, which was at a 73% level. Likewise, "Men" was time-shifted more -- 85% of the time, versus 75% of the overall drama group.

Emmy-winning animated comedy "South Park" was at a 66% fast-forwarding level, versus 55% for all TV animation. "South Park" was time-shifted at an 82% level versus 69% for the group.

Same with variety winner "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," which had its viewers fast-forwarding at a 66% rate versus 58% for similar shows. Time-shifting was at a 78% clip versus 53% overall.

Somewhat of a special note to NBC -- "30 Rock" viewers were the least prone to fast-forward through commercials of any Emmy-winning program: 64%. The show was also slightly lower versus the 66% for all comedies.

TiVo notes that of those prime-time non-sports Emmy program categories, variety programming is time-shifted the least -- just 53% of the time. Reality programming as a group comes next, at 65% of the time; then sitcoms at 68%; animated programming, 69%; and dramas, 75%.

Stop||Watch ratings service data comes from a daily, anonymous and random sample of 250,000 TiVo subscribers.

advertising, media measurement, television

3 comments about "TiVo: Ads Skipped In Acclaimed Shows".

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Drop deadline Poet from Poems R Us, September 25, 2009 at 12:44 p.m.
The scariest fact
Of modern TV:
The most coveted viewers
Are watching for “free”
The ones with more money
Are the ones with more toys
They’re not watching commercials
It’s not even white noise
Time-shifting programs
To engage when they want
Means zipping through ads
While impressions are scant
So TV gets dumber
Giving smart people fits
‘Cuz the programming’s made
For the saps and dipshits
Reply

Chuck Hildebrandt from Self, September 28, 2009 at 10:52 a.m.

My assumption is that this has more with the audience these shows are drawing (younger and better educated, therefore more DVR-savvy) than with the critical acclamation of the content being viewed.

Gerald Troutman, September 28, 2009 at 1:37 p.m.

Although the audience composition does contribute to the propensity to skip commercials, from personal experience I have to admit that I am much more likely to skip ads when time-shifting one of the few really compelling shows than I am with a run-of-the-mill time waster. I want to get back into the story line as quickly as possible to keep the rush going - and the ads are a buzz kill.