Nearly Half of U.S. Households Have a DVR

DURHAM: A survey of TV households in the U.S. finds that 44 percent have at least one DVR, according to Leichtman Research Group. 

The consumer research also reveals that one-third of DVR households have more than one DVR, with 14 percent having multiple recorders. These figures are up from 2005, when just 8 percent of U.S. homes had a DVR. 

Additionally, 73 percent of all digital cable subscribers have used VOD. Of this group, 87 percent say they have watched an on-demand movie or show in the past month. Around 62 percent of digital cable subscribers have used on demand in the last month, up from last year’s 52 percent.

The survey also included research on Netflix, finding that 20 percent of Netflix subscribers use "Watch Instantly" daily and 57 percent do so weekly. Last year, 10 percent used the service’s instant function daily and 43 percent did so weekly. Of the Watch Instantly users, 78 percent say they use it to watch movies and TV shows on a TV set. Also, 86 percent of Netflix households subscriber to a multi-channel video service and 43 percent with a multi-channel video service subscribe to a premium service.