Nielsen: DVR Users 'Watch' Commercials More Than You'd Think, But Not Really

Harry Cranes of the world, prepare to have your mind blown. While conventional wisdom states that no one with a DVR would ever sit through commercials, Neilsen reports that DVR users aged 18-49 are watching more commercials than ever before. Further, commercial viewing on "younger-skewing" shows like Gossip Girl and Glee rises some 50 percent when the broadcast is watched within three days of recording. The catch? The word "watch" has a very wide definition.

Despite the fact that commercials aren't being fast-forwarded as much as previously thought, it turns out the advertising friendly demographic still isn't paying attention to the ad breaks.

"[T]hey're also the ones most likely to be media multitasking -- texting, Facebooking, etc., during the commercials, using that as 'down time' to do other things until the commercial is over," Don Seaman, a vice president and the director of communications analysis for the media agency MPG told the Times. "Are we saying that they're too lazy to pick up the remote to fast-forward? Far from it. They're probably likely using commercials as a timing device to know when to pay attention to the TV again."

Patricia McDonough, the senior vice president for planning, policy and analysis at Nielsen echoes those statements: "One thing that continues to strike us is the dramatically different profiles when you look at the live audience versus the playback audience. [They're] so much younger and so much more upscale. Even though they are skipping commercials, they are the consumers that most advertisers are very eager to get."

So, to wrap up: More people are watching commercials on DVR playback, but they aren't really watching commercials. Alas, the best laid plans of mice and ad men, often go...hang on, let me check my Twitter feed.

· The Myth of Fast-Forwarding Through the Ads [NYT]