In an attempt to keep up with the rising number of time-delayed viewers, the Nielsen Co. has issued a list of television programs that saw the biggest increases in DVR use in 2008.
The DVR top ten doesn’t differ significantly from the overall top ten, with the Tuesday and Wednesday airings of Fox’s American Idol unsurprisingly coming out on top (live-plus-seven viewing added 2.15 million and 1.95 million households, respectively, to A.I.’s live only numbers. The remaining eight slots went to Heroes (1.83 million), Lost (1.79 million), Fringe (1.60 million), House (1.45 million), The Mentalist (1.45 million), Survivor (1.40 million), Grey’s Anatomy (1.36 million) and Bones (1.33 million).
The more interesting list is the second one, which ranked shows in order of the percentage increase attributable to time-shifted viewing. Cable shows ruled the day here, with Sci Fi’s Battlestar Galactica claiming the top spot by earning an impressive 53% bump from DVR viewing. USA’s Burn Notice came in second with a 37% increase, followed by Heroes and 90210 (both at 35%). The top ten was rounded out by Sci Fi’s Sanctuary (35%) and Eureka (34%); TBS’ My Boys (32%); and USA’s Psych, In Plain Sight, and The Starter Wife (29%, 28% and 27%, respectively).
Filed under: Battlestar Galactica, Ratings | Tagged: DVR, entertainment, Nielsen, Television, tv
