House, The Office Post Big Gains from New DVR Ratings

Nearly 2.5 million more viewers for Lost, Idol

Big boosts in viewership for a spectrum of network shows arrived as Nielsen Media Research delivered its first "timeshifted" digital video recorder (DVR) playback ratings today, covering the week of April 2 through April 8. Based on live-plus-seven days after initial air, NBC comedy The Office, ABC serial Lost, Fox’s House and American Idol posted top gains.

Nielsen is set to begin reporting national and local DVR playback ratings this May, tallying the stats using the installed National People Meter sample. DVR devices are now used in more than 17% of all homes across the United States, Nielsen says.

House picked up the most timeshifting viewers, pulling an additional 2.74 million. Lost and American Idol picked up an additional 2.47 million and 2.45 million respectively.

The Office garnered over 31% more viewers—the highest in percentage points—from 5.8 million viewers to 7.6 million. Elsewhere on NBC, the new ratings brought fledgling series Friday Night Lights a 17% boost from 4.9 million to 5.7 million viewers.

Desperate Housewives and CSI were among other programs who scored well in playback. Grey's Anatomy, which has reportedly scored high in season-to-date data, was in repeat for this week.

These numbers are bound to impact coming upfront negotiations, as advertisers have refused to pay for DVR viewing under the presumption that timeshifters skip commercial advertisements. Nielsen reports now show viewers fast-forward just half of all commercials during playback.

Television executives are hoping Nielsen’s new commercial minute ratings tools (now in testing), along with the new DVR ratings, will positively impact their positions with media buyers.

J. Bolden