TiVo’s Top Time-Shifted Shows of 2011-2012
Ever wonder which shows people time-shift the most with their TiVos? Well wonder no more as the top third-party DVR producer has released numbers for the most recent TV season. There's a wide selection of shows that people time-shift and they cover the entire week.
While it's interesting to see which shows people watch after airing, what's curious is that the percentages aren't higher. While the top time-shifted show, Nurse Jackie, is watched later by 89.3 percent of TiVo users, if you own a DVR why not use it?
I know that in our home, where we use a Windows Media Center PC, we time-shift 100% of our programming other than movies. The only reason we don't time-shift movies is due to the fact that we usually only put them on when we don't have recordings we want to watch.
That said, the fact that over 89% of TiVo users are waiting to watch their favorite programming says something for DVR use in general. While there are only around 50% of homes with a DVR, more are being added on a daily basis. The numbers are slowly going up and as the total number of devices grows, so will the number of users who choose to time-shift their content. The question then becomes: How will MSOs and content producers react? Currently, video-on-demand services are also growing and this pleases your provider. They can control trick play with VoD. MSOs know that if you use VoD, they can still get you to watch commercials. While Time Warner Cable recently secured a patent allowing them to stop trick play on DVRs, they've done nothing with it and it will be interesting to see if they ever do.
With more homes adding DVR service, it's hard to imagine why anyone would watch live TV other than for sports or news. Even then, waiting 20 minutes or so allows you to still watch the programming in near real time while still being able to skip over commercials. Which shows are time shifted may also have to do with the day of the week they're on an the timeslot they fall into. Most of the shows listed below are on later in the evening when many people are headed to bed and choose to wait until the next day to catch their favorite programming. I know this is the case in our home.
And that brings me to the questions. If you are a DVR user (and reading here, most likely you are) why do you watch live TV? Which shows to you frequently time shift and watch at a later time? Do you find yourself using more VoD or online services to catch up on shows or is your DVR still heavily used? As internet speeds increase and more people sign up for services such as Netflix, Amazon Video on Demand and Hulu, many have said that the DVRs days are numbered. If that's the case then why are the number of installed devices going up? Could it be that consumers, having tasted "TV on their schedule" via the services listed above realizing that while those services are great, they still want a standard cable or satellite service and they still want to be able to view their content on their time?
While many have said that the DVR will soon be a thing of the past, I see it as a device that will become more prevalent in people's homes, not less. We're quickly becoming accustomed to having our programming available to us when we want it, not on a regular schedule and the DVR only adds to this ability. I also think that this is why we're finally seeing TiVo move up and become a profitable company. With the ability to record digital programming from cable as well as online services like Netflix and Hulu, TiVo has positioned themselves as a premiere device for watching what you want, when you want. While the TiVo company and product have been around for years, we're now seeing that maybe they were simply ahead of their time.
So which shows are the most time shifted among TiVo users? Take a look below and then head to The Daily Beast for full descriptions for each show!
While it's interesting to see which shows people watch after airing, what's curious is that the percentages aren't higher. While the top time-shifted show, Nurse Jackie, is watched later by 89.3 percent of TiVo users, if you own a DVR why not use it?
I know that in our home, where we use a Windows Media Center PC, we time-shift 100% of our programming other than movies. The only reason we don't time-shift movies is due to the fact that we usually only put them on when we don't have recordings we want to watch.
That said, the fact that over 89% of TiVo users are waiting to watch their favorite programming says something for DVR use in general. While there are only around 50% of homes with a DVR, more are being added on a daily basis. The numbers are slowly going up and as the total number of devices grows, so will the number of users who choose to time-shift their content. The question then becomes: How will MSOs and content producers react? Currently, video-on-demand services are also growing and this pleases your provider. They can control trick play with VoD. MSOs know that if you use VoD, they can still get you to watch commercials. While Time Warner Cable recently secured a patent allowing them to stop trick play on DVRs, they've done nothing with it and it will be interesting to see if they ever do.
With more homes adding DVR service, it's hard to imagine why anyone would watch live TV other than for sports or news. Even then, waiting 20 minutes or so allows you to still watch the programming in near real time while still being able to skip over commercials. Which shows are time shifted may also have to do with the day of the week they're on an the timeslot they fall into. Most of the shows listed below are on later in the evening when many people are headed to bed and choose to wait until the next day to catch their favorite programming. I know this is the case in our home.
And that brings me to the questions. If you are a DVR user (and reading here, most likely you are) why do you watch live TV? Which shows to you frequently time shift and watch at a later time? Do you find yourself using more VoD or online services to catch up on shows or is your DVR still heavily used? As internet speeds increase and more people sign up for services such as Netflix, Amazon Video on Demand and Hulu, many have said that the DVRs days are numbered. If that's the case then why are the number of installed devices going up? Could it be that consumers, having tasted "TV on their schedule" via the services listed above realizing that while those services are great, they still want a standard cable or satellite service and they still want to be able to view their content on their time?
While many have said that the DVR will soon be a thing of the past, I see it as a device that will become more prevalent in people's homes, not less. We're quickly becoming accustomed to having our programming available to us when we want it, not on a regular schedule and the DVR only adds to this ability. I also think that this is why we're finally seeing TiVo move up and become a profitable company. With the ability to record digital programming from cable as well as online services like Netflix and Hulu, TiVo has positioned themselves as a premiere device for watching what you want, when you want. While the TiVo company and product have been around for years, we're now seeing that maybe they were simply ahead of their time.
So which shows are the most time shifted among TiVo users? Take a look below and then head to The Daily Beast for full descriptions for each show!
- Nurse Jackie
- Portlandia
- Eureka
- Dexter
- Mad Men
- In Plain Sight
- Hot in Cleveland
- Justified
- Vampire Diaries
- Sanctuary
- Psych
- Leverage
- Switched at Birth
- Project Runway
- Burn Notice
- Being Human
- Fringe
- The Big C
- The Killing
- Shameless
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