For the week of February 2-8, Fox’s Wednesday American Idol had the two largest audiences via DVR viewing with 5.504 million viewers via DVRs on Wednesday and 5.417 million on Tuesday.
ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy was third with a DVR viewing audience of 4.200 million. Rounding out the top ten for the largest DVR audiences were House, Lost, Office, 24, Fringe, Desperate Housewives and Heroes.
Gossip Girl had the highest share of it’s overall viewing by DVR with 33.9% of all viewing by DVR. CW shows were prominent, with 3 in the top 5 and 5 in the top 10. Rounding out the top 10 for highest share of total audience viewing via DVR viewing were 90210, Office, Heroes, Privileged, 30 Rock, Lost, One Tree Hill, Smallville and 24.
Those of you interested in DVR viewing numbers might enjoy:
When Do DVR’d Shows Get Watched? Same Night or After?
Doing My Part To Combat DVR Misinformation.
Largest DVR Audiences for Broadcast TV Shows, February 2-8, 2009:
| Rank | Programs | Net | Persons Live+7 (000s) | Persons Live+SD (000s) | Persons Live (000s) | Same Day DVR Viewers (000s) | Live+7 DVR Viewers (000s) | % of All Viewing By DVR | % of DVR Viewing On Airdate |
| 1 | AMERICAN IDOL-WEDNESDAY | FOX | 28,303 | 26,457 | 22,799 | 3,658 | 5,504 | 19.4% | 66.5% |
| 2 | AMERICAN IDOL-TUESDAY | FOX | 28,652 | 26,639 | 23,235 | 3,404 | 5,417 | 18.9% | 62.8% |
| 3 | GREY’S ANATOMY | ABC | 17,819 | 15,332 | 13,619 | 1,713 | 4,200 | 23.6% | 40.8% |
| 4 | HOUSE | FOX | 17,053 | 14,950 | 12,985 | 1,965 | 4,068 | 23.9% | 48.3% |
| 5 | LOST | ABC | 12,855 | 10,992 | 9,353 | 1,639 | 3,502 | 27.2% | 46.8% |
| 6 | OFFICE | NBC | 10,230 | 8,538 | 6,902 | 1,636 | 3,328 | 32.5% | 49.2% |
| 7 | FRINGE | FOX | 14,752 | 12,833 | 11,456 | 1,377 | 3,296 | 22.3% | 41.8% |
| 8 | 24 | FOX | 13,161 | 11,417 | 9,971 | 1,446 | 3,190 | 24.2% | 45.3% |
| 9 | DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES | ABC | 15,381 | 13,841 | 12,212 | 1,629 | 3,169 | 20.6% | 51.4% |
| 10 | HEROES | NBC | 10,400 | 8,592 | 7,381 | 1,211 | 3,019 | 29.0% | 40.1% |
| 11 | TWO AND A HALF MEN | CBS | 17,918 | 16,564 | 15,190 | 1,374 | 2,728 | 15.2% | 50.4% |
| 12 | BONES | FOX | 12,436 | 10,903 | 9,735 | 1,168 | 2,701 | 21.7% | 43.2% |
| 13 | PRIVATE PRACTICE | ABC | 14,634 | 13,018 | 11,975 | 1,043 | 2,659 | 18.2% | 39.2% |
| 14 | 30 ROCK | NBC | 7,711 | 6,420 | 5,491 | 929 | 2,220 | 28.8% | 41.8% |
| 15 | CSI: MIAMI | CBS | 17,597 | 16,117 | 15,519 | 598 | 2,078 | 11.8% | 28.8% |
| 16 | BIG BANG THEORY | CBS | 11,748 | 10,853 | 9,711 | 1,142 | 2,037 | 17.3% | 56.1% |
| 17 | HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER | CBS | 11,225 | 10,312 | 9,196 | 1,116 | 2,029 | 18.1% | 55.0% |
| 18 | MEDIUM | NBC | 10,087 | 8,608 | 8,077 | 531 | 2,010 | 19.9% | 26.4% |
| 19 | LAW AND ORDER:SVU | NBC | 11,806 | 10,389 | 9,880 | 509 | 1,926 | 16.3% | 26.4% |
| 20 | GHOST WHISPERER | CBS | 12,291 | 11,419 | 10,481 | 938 | 1,810 | 14.7% | 51.8% |
Greatest % Of DVR Viewing for Broadcast TV Shows, February 2-8, 2009:
| Rank | Programs | Net | Persons Live+7 (000s) | Persons Live+SD (000s) | Persons Live (000s) | Same Day DVR Viewers (000s) | Live+7 DVR Viewers (000s) | % of All Viewing By DVR | % of DVR Viewing On Airdate |
| 1 | GOSSIP GIRL | CW | 2,801 | 2,311 | 1,851 | 460 | 950 | 33.9% | 48.4% |
| 2 | 90210 | CW | 3,057 | 2,478 | 2,025 | 453 | 1,032 | 33.8% | 43.9% |
| 3 | OFFICE | NBC | 10,230 | 8,538 | 6,902 | 1,636 | 3,328 | 32.5% | 49.2% |
| 4 | HEROES | NBC | 10,400 | 8,592 | 7,381 | 1,211 | 3,019 | 29.0% | 40.1% |
| 5 | PRIVILEGED | CW | 2,032 | 1,643 | 1,446 | 197 | 586 | 28.8% | 33.6% |
| 6 | 30 ROCK | NBC | 7,711 | 6,420 | 5,491 | 929 | 2,220 | 28.8% | 41.8% |
| 7 | LOST | ABC | 12,855 | 10,992 | 9,353 | 1,639 | 3,502 | 27.2% | 46.8% |
| 8 | ONE TREE HILL | CW | 3,111 | 2,652 | 2,336 | 316 | 775 | 24.9% | 40.8% |
| 9 | SMALLVILLE | CW | 4,602 | 3,958 | 3,476 | 482 | 1,126 | 24.5% | 42.8% |
| 10 | 24 | FOX | 13,161 | 11,417 | 9,971 | 1,446 | 3,190 | 24.2% | 45.3% |
| 11 | HOUSE | FOX | 17,053 | 14,950 | 12,985 | 1,965 | 4,068 | 23.9% | 48.3% |
| 12 | GREY’S ANATOMY | ABC | 17,819 | 15,332 | 13,619 | 1,713 | 4,200 | 23.6% | 40.8% |
| 13 | SCRUBS-TU 9:30PM | ABC | 5,474 | 4,687 | 4,218 | 469 | 1,256 | 22.9% | 37.3% |
| 14 | SCRUBS-TU 9PM | ABC | 5,582 | 4,824 | 4,331 | 493 | 1,251 | 22.4% | 39.4% |
| 15 | FRINGE | FOX | 14,752 | 12,833 | 11,456 | 1,377 | 3,296 | 22.3% | 41.8% |
| 16 | FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS | NBC | 4,755 | 4,186 | 3,715 | 471 | 1,040 | 21.9% | 45.3% |
| 17 | BONES | FOX | 12,436 | 10,903 | 9,735 | 1,168 | 2,701 | 21.7% | 43.2% |
| 18 | DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES | ABC | 15,381 | 13,841 | 12,212 | 1,629 | 3,169 | 20.6% | 51.4% |
| 19 | SUPERNATURAL | CW | 3,941 | 3,391 | 3,136 | 255 | 805 | 20.4% | 31.7% |
| 20 | HELL’S KITCHEN | FOX | 8,698 | 7,752 | 6,954 | 798 | 1,744 | 20.1% | 45.8% |
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The % of Total viewing by DVR table ranks which of the Top 150 broadcast shows [by Live+7 viewers] had thelargest % of viewing by DVR in their Live+7 audience numbers from viewers watching shows later on their digital video recorders (DVRs).
Definitions:
DVR (Time-shifted) Viewing – Program ratings for national sources are produced in three streams of data –Live, Live+Same Day (Live+SD) and Live+7 Day. Time shifted figures account for incremental viewing that takes place with DVRs which are currently in approximately 24.4% of all U.S. TV households. Live+Same Day(Live+SD) include viewing during the same broadcast day as the original telecast, with a cut-off of 3:00AM local time when meters transmit daily viewing to Nielsen for processing. Live+7 Day ratings include incremental viewing that takes place during the 7 days following a telecast.
Same Day DVR Viewers - How many people watched the show on their DVRs prior to 3AM the day following the airdate,
Live+7 DVR Viewers - How many people watched the show on their DVRs within 7 days following the airdate
% of All Viewing By DVR - Of the total viewing of that particular episode, what percentage was done via DVR.
% of DVR Viewing On Airdate - Of the DVR viewing of that particular episode, what percentage was done prior to 3AM the day following the airdate.
Nielsen TV Ratings Data:©2009 The Nielsen Company. All Rights Reserved.
Forgive me if this is covered somewhere on the site and I missed it, but what does “DVR” and “DVR viewer” actually mean?
For DVRs, just which types are we talking about? I assume Tivos report back, but what about the various cable system provided DVRs? What about the do it yourself varieties: Windows Media Centers and the various Linux programs (e.g. Myth TV)?
For DVR viewers/C3 ratings: How are they correlating the numbers of physical machines (which they know) with the number of people actually sitting there watching it (which they presumably don’t). Assuming DVR ownership is evenly distributed amongst all demographics (which it isn’t) and extrapolating from there?
Tom, my understanding is that Nielsen attempts to match its panel against real world composition. so most of the DVR homes they are tracking would be from cable and satellite systems, followed by TiVo.
While there are many Media Center PCs in the wild, almost nobody uses them as DVRs (I have been since 2004) and even fewer still hook them up to their televisions. It wouldn’t surprise me to find that there is zero representation for Myth TV, but I don’t think that probably unjustly skews the results.
I wonder if FNL’s consistent showing in top 20 most-DVR’d-by-percentage will play any factor in DirecTV/FNL trying to deal up another season? Conventional wisdom says DVR shouldn’t be a factor here, but FNL hasn’t exactly followed conventional rules
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Robert, do you have the DVR numbers for Chuck? I’m just curious to see what numbers the show got.
1.72M total DVR viewers, 9.403M total live+7 audience (Chuck 3D episode). 786K out of the 1.72 watched same day, so most watched later in the week.
Here are the Chuck DVR numbers, same columns as above:
CHUCK NBC 9,403 8,469 7,683 786 1,720 18.3% 45.7%
Edit: Robert ahead by seconds!
slow old man
Thanks guys
What about the Dollhouse T:TSCC DVR etc ratings?
Miranda, this is for the week before Dollhouse premiered.
Curious as to why it takes 2 weeks to get +7 number out. in dollhouse’s case, it’ll almost be 3 weeks. does anywhere else provide this information earlier?
Miranda, that’s when the data is available from Nielsen. Three Tuesdays after the Sunday that ends the week in question. Live+SD data, is available one Tuesday after the Sunday. I could see Live+7 data someday being available sooner than it is today because of improved processing speed, but it’ll never be sooner than 2 Tuesdays after the Sunday ending the week simply because an extra 7 days of data must be gathered.