Time-Shifted Viewing on the Rise

PHILADELPHIA: Comcast has released the results of its second annual “TV Pulse Survey,” indicating 62 percent of consumers have watched prime-time TV series through technologies that include VOD, DVR and the Internet.

"Time-shifting has hit the mainstream and is changing the way people watch TV,” said Diana Kerekes, VP of entertainment services for Comcast. “The results of our ‘TV Pulse Survey’ underscore more consumers are watching their favorite shows when and how they want to watch them."

The survey, conducted by International Communications Research, reports that time-shifted viewing is on the rise, with 61 percent using these technologies more than one year ago, and 84 percent using them more than just three years ago. The reasons consumers use time-shifting technologies include personal schedules (79 percent) and programming conflicts (63 percent).

There’s also strong interest in the new fall season, particularly for drama (75 percent) and comedy (68 percent), less so for movies (57 percent), news/educational (50 percent), sports (45 percent) and reality shows (38 percent).

New series creating the most buzz include Hawaii Five-O (40 percent), No Ordinary Family (23 percent), The Event (21 percent), Nikita (9 percent) and Lone Star (8 percent). In terms of anticipation for returning shows, The Good Wife leads the pack (21 percent), followed by Glee (19 percent), Modern Family (18 percent) and Mad Men (15 percent), among others.