CBS - DVR VIEWING MAY SAVE HEROES

DVR VIEWING MAY SAVE HEROES

DVR viewing for the first week of the fall season has drastically altered the ratings results for numerous shows -- in particular, NBC's Heroes , which looked as if it would be yanked from the network's schedule. However, in an article headlined "Later Viewings of Shows on DVRs Brighten Ratings," the New York Times observed today (Tuesday) that the overall audience for Heroes grew by 26 percent when DVR viewing over the entire week was taken into account, putting its final numbers well above the average for all network programs. In an interview with the newspaper, David Poltrack, who tracks ratings for CBS, commented that the DVR "is a good thing for network television." He noted that in the past, viewers had to decide between appealing shows that were on opposite one another. "The DVR has made it easy to watch any show you want." The Times commented that taking into account DVR viewing for some shows could "be the difference between being labeled a potential hit and a true hit; for others it may be the difference between continuation and cancellation."

13/10/2009