The fall TV season launched three weeks ago, and today we finally learned how all the shows that debuted during premiere week are doing, ratings-wise, when you factor in DVR playback. The show that garnered the largest DVR audience was — no surprise here — ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy, which added a hefty 4.3 million viewers to its initial tally of 16.8 million during its two-hour season premiere on Sept. 25. (If you’re wondering why CBS’s powerhouse CSI didn’t top the list, remember that it premiered two weeks later, on Oct. 9.) Those 4.3 million additional viewers represent a very important 26 percent increase for Grey’s.
Fox’s House and NBC’s Heroes added 3.8 and 3.2 million viewers via DVR, respectively, to round out the top three in the most-DVRed category. The struggling Heroes, which is averaging just 9.5 million viewers in same-day viewing, especially needed the boost. As for the most-DVRed comedy? Another no-brainer: CBS’s Two and a Half Men, which boosted its initial 13.9 million viewers by 15 percent, with an additional 2.1 million viewers from DVR. No other comedies even cracked the Top 10, in terms of total DVR viewership.
Another super-interesting aspect of these numbers is the shows that receive the greatest percentage increase in viewers after DVR numbers are included. The CW’s new 90210 (pictured) handily took top honors there, boosting its viewership by 43 percent (or 1.1 million pairs of eyeballs) over the meager 2.5 million that originally tuned in. How could this have happened? Fans may have been watching CBS’s NCIS, NBC’s The Biggest Loser, or Fox’s House live at the same time and just decided to tune in to 90210 later. While certainly good news for 90210, this does reveal that a large proportion of the show’s viewers don’t necessarily consider it important enough to watch in real time.
Interestingly, few of TV’s biggest shows — particularly CBS shows, which have all come out of the gate pretty strongly
this season — populate the top of this list. Series on The CW — such
as newbie Privileged (30 percent increase), Gossip Girl (28 percent increase), America’s Next Top Model (27 percent), and One Tree Hill (26 percent) — fill out the top 10, alongside NBC’s The Office (40 percent) and Heroes (37 percent), and Fox’s Fringe (36 percent), House (35 percent), and Prison Break
(27 percent). While topping this percentage-increase list is indeed notable, keep in mind
that most of these shows still draw a relatively small audience overall.
Interestingly, few of TV’s biggest shows — particularly CBS shows, which have all come out of the gate pretty stronglythis season — populate the top of this list. Series on The CW — suchas newbie Privileged (30 percent increase), Gossip Girl (28 percent increase), America’s Next Top Model (27 percent), and One Tree Hill (26 percent) — fill out the top 10, alongside NBC’s The Office (40 percent) and Heroes (37 percent), and Fox’s Fringe (36 percent), House (35 percent), and Prison Break(27 percent). While topping this percentage-increase list is indeed notable, keep in mindthat most of these shows still draw a relatively small audience overall.
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I am gladPpriviledged is up there. I hope this factors in when CW is deciding if they want to give it a full season order. It’s a quality show.
I thought 90210 debuted with almost 5 million viewers, no?
If I remember correctly, “Fringe” didn’t get the numbers they were hoping for their premiere (then the ratings improved some) .. maybe factoring in the DVR views will make that number improve?
I am curious about “Supernatural” .. they had a really good premiere (for their show, it’s on the CW too) .. wondering what their DVR numbers looked like too? Although maybe more people wanted to watch it live vs on DVR later??
WOW! What a stunner. The dvr numbers for Grey’s Anatomy puts its total viewership at over 21 million for the week and even that might be on the low side because on the USA Today website ratings for that initial week Grey’s Anatomy is listed at having pulled in 18.3 or 18.5 million viewers and adding over 4 million viewers to that total would put the show at close to 23 million viewers for the first week. Grey’s Anatomy is a force to be reckoned with either way you look at it.
What about Sarah Conner ?
They should print a full list of the DVR numbers. I’m really curious how that looks.
Oops. 90210 did debut to almost 5 million – a week early. These ratings are for premiere week, which actually aired 90210’s second show to considerable ratings decline.
Just because you record a show doesn’t mean it’s not important. I record “How I Met Your Mother” on Monday’s & so I can I seamlessly watch “Chuck” & “Heroes,” and it’s one of my favorite shows.
Thanks!
It’s nice to get this data in addition to the overnights as it gives a good indication of how many people have actually decided to quit on some shows.
I wonder, how much of the DVR viewers are in 18-49. It’s no surprise CBS is left little affected by DVR penetration. Unfortunate for the other networks who skew younger.
Also, is it safe to assume these are live +7 figures?
I really want to know the numbers for Chuck, Terminator, and Supernatural. Please?
Maybe people DVRed 90210 because there are so many commercials on the CW, not that they did not think it was impoertant enough to watch live. I DVR Americas Next Top Madel for that very reason. The commericals on the CW are endless.
“this does reveal that a large proportion of the show’s viewers don’t necessarily consider it important enough to watch in real time.”
I don’t think “important” has anything to do with it. In fact the opposite is true. I don’t watch ANY show that I truly enjoy in “real time.” I watch them off my TiVo because that allows me to watch them when I am in the mood to enjoy them most, and it allows me to watch them without commercials. The degree to which TiVo has increased my enjoyment of television is impossible to calculate.
Does it matter if the ratings are better with DVR since the ratings are used to get advertisers to pay for air time and people just fast forward through the commercials?
I also dvr the shows I want to watch but not because I like them less but because I can’t watch them at the time, there is too much going on, too much noise in the house I rather be alone
Ow and yeah Grey’s anatomy is a force of nature when it comes to ratings! The rating before was not 16 but 18 mil so with the dvr it goes sky high!
I agree with JJ. When I dvr shows sometimes it is not based on “importance” yes sometimes I have 2 shows recording at once, but mostly I like to be able to watch when I can give a show my full attention. And I like to be able to control commercials and FF.
I hate watching live tv. I avoid it at all costs. I even will pause a show so that enough time passes so that I can **not** watch live. I hate commercials. Watching shows on dvr has nothing to do with the level of appreciation I have for a show. In fact, if I am watching something live, it generally means I am bored to death and nothing is recorded **or** I’m asleep!
I dont know what I would do without my DVR!!!! I am a self-avowed television addict so it comes as no suprise to me that fall is my favotite season because of all the television. Now with DVR I dont feel like a I have to be home all that much anymore. Its really freeing to someone like me who hates missing an epsiode of a favorite show, especiallty network ones when the repeat airs like 3 months later. What I ususally do is start my t.v.-veiwing blocks an hour later (so, 9 instead of
that way I can just watch 3 hours of t.v. in about half the time and with ZERO commercials
In the age of the DVR, advertisers are going to have to come up with creative ways to advertise their products. Do they honestly think that most people sit there during the commercials of their favorite shows and watch them? Most people get up and do other things. And just b/c I fastforward through the commercials doesn’t mean I can’t tell what the products are.
And I agree with some other posters. Just b/c I DVR the majority of those shows doesn’t mean they’re less important to me. In fact, my less important shows are the ones I don’t DVR and watch live.
You know I’ve had a Tivo unit first and then a DVR thru Direct TV. I almost never watch a show live any more in fact the last time I did it was about a year ago. First off anything on FOX can’t be watched live because there seems to be a comerical every 3 to 4 minutes. Now don’t get me wrong, Fox has some fine shows but I hate to be interpreted so often. As for the other shows specially the ones at 8 or 9pm I just don’t have the time to sit down and watch them when they air. That is the reality of this day and age. Our lives are so full of stuff to do that we can’t always watch shows when we want unless its recorded. There is also one other reason I won’t watch live most of the time, comericals, comericals and more comericals. I just can’t stand them and to be honest I pay about $75 a month to watch TV and record shows and I’m tired of paying for watching comericals so I don’t.
i completely agree with the other posters regarding DVRing vs. watching live. i will purposely start watching shows later in order to avoid commercials. just because i don’t watch a show live doesn’t mean i care about it any less.
DVR is the best invention ever! I dont watch anything in real time anymore like at all. Im a tv junkie…im always trying to catch up while another show is recording!
Im addicted to like 13shows i would never be able to see them if it wasnt for dvr, i make my own schedule!
I agree with Gina about not caring about a show less just because I don’t watch it live. In fact, I *can’t* watch any of the shows I TiVo live, because I work 1-midnight four days a week, so I’m not able to watch anything I TiVo when it actually airs. Not everyone works 9-5, networks! Just because we don’t watch it live doesn’t mean we don’t love it!
I hope the networks start paying more attention to these and stop cancelling everything that doesn’t do well at first. I mostly only watch shows on DVR because I work at night.
do DVR viewers really add much mojo to a TV series rating? The ratings are, primarily, used to set commercial prices to be aired during the show. High ratings means big bucks for the station, regardless of how good the actual material is (HELLO TWO AND A HALF MEN). On a DVR, however, its a pretty safe bet that those fast forward buttons are being used anytime a commercial pops up. It certainly increases the price on product placement, but the main source of income for the show isn’t really affected. So YAY for Grey’s for adding on a huge number to their premiere audience, but how happy can the suits actually be over this?
What about the video feeds like hulu or the best the comedy cent home page. because of work or I go out with the family or there was a show i want to see again.. So i watch via the pc. how do these rate up there? It is crime that the networks just live for the nealson ratings and not all the pther outlets for watching tv. heck i wouldnt mind embeaded ads if it kept my shows on the air
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