Nielsen Report: U.S. DVR Penetration at 20.5 Percent

NEW YORK, October 17: New research from The Nielsen Company
reveals that the number of U.S. households with digital video recorders has
risen to 20.5 percent of its National People Meter sample, up from 16.2 percent
in May 2007 and 8 percent in January 2006.

Nielsen also notes that the total average time a household
had a TV set on during the 2006-2007 television year was 8 hours and 14 minutes
per day, the same as last year, which was a record high.

Meanwhile, the average amount of television watched by
individual viewers (live viewing, plus recorded viewing within a seven-day
period) during the season dipped by 1 minute per day to 4 hours and 34 minutes.
Average viewing in prime time was also down one minute, to 1 hour 10 minutes
per day.

"Television clearly remains a very important part of
daily life in the United States," said Patricia McDonough, the senior VP
of planning policy and analysis at Nielsen Media Research. "There are
numerous screens competing for time and attention as well as consumer devices
providing new ways for viewers to watch their favorite shows. Regardless, these
trends demonstrate that tuning to traditional television remains strong."

—By Mansha Daswani