DVRs Upstaging 'Live' TV for Early Adopters

Despite massive recent publicity, Digital Video Recorders (DVRs) have yet to penetrate very far into the US market, according to a survey by Ipsos-Insight. However, the average user already spends less time watching 'live' TV than watching using the various functions of the DVR.

Currently, industry estimates indicate that about 3.5% of US households have a DVR, but this survey produced a figure of 5.8% saying that they have one, perhaps reflecting a high level of confusion with DVD players or other equipment. The most common channel through which DVRs have been purchased to date is electronics retailers (29%), followed by satellite (17%) or cable providers (15%). With the survey conducted just after the holiday season, a good portion of respondents reported that they received their DVR as a gift (13%).

Satellite customers are almost twice as likely to have a DVR as cable customers (11.4% versus 5.6%), perhaps because the former are promoting DVR as an alternative to the latter's video-on-demand (VOD) offering. According to Lynne Bartos, a leader with Ipsos-Insight's Cable, Media and Entertainment research division, 'The satellite players-DirecTV and EchoStar-have been very aggressive with connecting their customers with a DVR - DirecTV with TiVo and EchoStar with its own product. I expect those percentages to come closer together as major cable operators like Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Cox kick into high gear with their DVR rollouts'.

The majority of DVR owners (69%) say that they are easy to use, but only 44% say they are easy to self-install, whereas 57% of those who intend to get a DVR think the latter - they may be in for an unpleasant surprise.

Skipping commercials is the most common DVR activity among respondents - about 63% of respondents say they skip commercials at least sometimes. Just over half (55%) of DVR owners say they watch instant replays of live TV and they pause live TV with their DVR.

1,000 US adults age 18 and older were interviewed by telephone between January 16 and 19, using the Ipsos US Express - see www.ipsos-na.com/news/pa/usexpress.cfm for details.

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas unless otherwise stated.

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