Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Amanda comments on the previous post, and points out this article about the effects of the DVR on ad watching:

Far from fast-forwarding through commercials, DVR viewers watch commercials – 40 percent watch them in real time. And even when the other 60 percent are fast-forwarding, they are still watching and absorbing the commercials. That's where "neurophysiological effects" of advertising come into play. See, NBC had a "bio-psychological" study done, and it turns out that even when fast-forwarding through commercials, viewers still actively scan and follow the main action of the commercials. As the Harvard-educated doctor who oversaw the study summarizes, "Viewers do not turn off their emotions while fast-forwarding through commercials."

I continue to be amazed by that 40 per cent number, which I've seen before (though it might be from the same study). I find the idea that viewers "actively scan" very suspect, too. There's a world of difference between what you can absorb fast forwarding and what you absorb watching. "Following the main action" is not the same as getting the joke, or the point.

Moreover, my DVR has a nifty "jump 30 seconds forward" button which is how I ditch commercials. I don't see them at all.

I don't suppose the fact that NBC commissioned the study has anything to do with the results, does it? Did they simultaneously check to see if the viewers who were "watching" the commercials also stayed in the room?

Labels: TV distribution tech

1:44 PM

1 Comments:

Shhhhhhhh! Don't let the advertisers in on the ruse. We don't want them to try changing things and disrupting out happy DVR lives. . ..

BTW, I used that code on my TiVo to allow the 30-second skipping. Eventually it felt like more of a nuisance than the fastest FFWD function. (A) Had to keep pushing the buttom to skip 30 seconds and (B) Often skipped over the beginning of the act in so had to rewind then deal with the auto go back a couple seconds to take into account human error. The fastest FFWD really works better in our household.

BTW, I've often noticed that Complications Ensue has errors loading during the workday, so I don't get to see it. =(

By  The_Lex, at 2:32 PM  

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