When TiVo (and ReplayTV) first came out, broadcasters and advertisers both worried that everyone would get one and use them to skip all commercials.
Not everyone has a DVR yet, obviously, but it still looks like the first half of that prophecy might come true. Pretty much every pay-TV provider sells or leases DVRs these days and as ever more people try them, ever more people realize they’re the best thing since sliced bread.
The second half of the prophecy, however, looks to be entirely off base.
Yes, DVR users do skip commercials. Some DVR users even skip all commercials. But according to an interesting Cnet story, data released this week show that a big percentage of TiVo users skip ads for irrelevant products but watch ads for products they might actually buy.
For example, in a somewhat obvious finding, households with children under the age of 12 are much more apt to watch time-shifted commercials about children’s skincare products, toys and computer games, than those households with adults over 50.
In contrast, households with adults over 50 are more apt to watch time-shifted commercials about political celebrations, collectibles and art, hair restoration products, and foreign travel, according to data TiVo collected on roughly 15,000 volunteer households in Might.
As someone who uses a DVR to skip basically all ads, I was initially skeptical of these findings, but I actually fit into the mold. I don’t buy much of anything but nerd gear and non-chain restaurant food, so nearly no ads are relevant to my life.
Indeed, as I am fast forwarding through commercials, I’ll sometimes rewind back to the beginning of an ad for the one well-advertised product I actually consume: movies.
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