
For the week of February 16-22, Fox’s Tuesday American Idol had the largest audience via DVR viewing with 4.353 million viewers via DVRs.
Fox’s House was second with a DVR viewing audience of 4.129 million. Rounding out the top ten for the largest DVR audiences were Wednesday’s American Idol, Grey’s Anatomy, Lost, 24, The Mentalist, Heroes, NCIS and CSI.
Heroes had the highest share of it’s overall viewing by DVR with 30.7% of all viewing by DVR. Rounding out the top 10 for highest share of total audience viewing via DVR viewing were Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles, Dollhouse, Lost, Life, 24, House, Amazing Race, Chuck and Friday Night Lights.
Note: The numbers in these lists are total viewers, not any particular age demographic.
To see past weeks DVR viewing lists click here.
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:
| Rank | Programs | Net | Persons Live+7 (000s) | Persons Live+SD (000s) | Persons Live (000s) | Same Day DVR Viewers (000s) | DVR Viewers (000s) | % of All Viewing By DVR | % of DVR Viewing On Airdate |
| 1 | AMERICAN IDOL-TUESDAY | FOX | 26,977 | 25,384 | 22,624 | 2,760 | 4,353 | 16.1% | 63.4% |
| 2 | HOUSE | FOX | 16,367 | 14,250 | 12,238 | 2,012 | 4,129 | 25.2% | 48.7% |
| 3 | AMERICAN IDOL-WEDNESDAY | FOX | 26,065 | 24,836 | 22,000 | 2,836 | 4,065 | 15.6% | 69.8% |
| 4 | GREY’S ANATOMY | ABC | 17,806 | 15,676 | 13,956 | 1,720 | 3,850 | 21.6% | 44.7% |
| 5 | LOST | ABC | 13,161 | 11,463 | 9,558 | 1,905 | 3,603 | 27.4% | 52.9% |
| 6 | 24 | FOX | 12,926 | 11,262 | 9,665 | 1,597 | 3,261 | 25.2% | 49.0% |
| 7 | THE MENTALIST | CBS | 20,248 | 18,237 | 17,107 | 1,130 | 3,141 | 15.5% | 36.0% |
| 8 | HEROES | NBC | 9,499 | 7,764 | 6,581 | 1,183 | 2,918 | 30.7% | 40.5% |
| 9 | NCIS | CBS | 19,535 | 18,079 | 16,768 | 1,311 | 2,767 | 14.2% | 47.4% |
| 10 | CSI | CBS | 18,783 | 16,946 | 16,106 | 840 | 2,677 | 14.3% | 31.4% |
| 11 | PRIVATE PRACTICE | ABC | 12,935 | 11,231 | 10,363 | 868 | 2,572 | 19.9% | 33.7% |
| 12 | CRIMINAL MINDS | CBS | 16,199 | 14,678 | 13,668 | 1,010 | 2,531 | 15.6% | 39.9% |
| 13 | ACADEMY AWARDS-02/22 | ABC | 36,678 | 36,316 | 34,260 | 2,056 | 2,418 | 6.6% | 85.0% |
| 14 | BONES | FOX | 10,994 | 9,543 | 8,626 | 917 | 2,368 | 21.5% | 38.7% |
| 15 | SURVIVOR: TOCANTINS | CBS | 14,328 | 13,593 | 11,983 | 1,610 | 2,345 | 16.4% | 68.7% |
| 16 | AMAZING RACE 14 | CBS | 8,512 | 7,813 | 6,528 | 1,285 | 1,984 | 23.3% | 64.8% |
| 17 | CHUCK | NBC | 7,725 | 6,885 | 5,944 | 941 | 1,781 | 23.1% | 52.8% |
| 18 | HELL’S KITCHEN | FOX | 7,591 | 6,584 | 5,880 | 704 | 1,711 | 22.5% | 41.1% |
| 19 | LAW AND ORDER:SVU | NBC | 10,681 | 9,510 | 8,987 | 523 | 1,694 | 15.9% | 30.9% |
| 20 | E.R. | NBC | 8,810 | 7,539 | 7,136 | 403 | 1,674 | 19.0% | 24.1% |
Greatest % Of DVR Viewing for Broadcast TV Shows:
| Rank | Programs | Net | Persons Live+7 (000s) | Persons Live+SD (000s) | Persons Live (000s) | Same Day DVR Viewers (000s) | DVR Viewers (000s) | % of All Viewing By DVR | % of DVR Viewing On Airdate |
| 1 | HEROES | NBC | 9,499 | 7,764 | 6,581 | 1,183 | 2,918 | 30.7% | 40.5% |
| 2 | TERMINATOR: SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES | FOX | 4,851 | 3,863 | 3,376 | 487 | 1,475 | 30.4% | 33.0% |
| 3 | DOLLHOUSE | FOX | 5,245 | 4,204 | 3,787 | 417 | 1,458 | 27.8% | 28.6% |
| 4 | LOST | ABC | 13,161 | 11,463 | 9,558 | 1,905 | 3,603 | 27.4% | 52.9% |
| 5 | LIFE | NBC | 6,120 | 5,045 | 4,575 | 470 | 1,545 | 25.2% | 30.4% |
| 6 | 24 | FOX | 12,926 | 11,262 | 9,665 | 1,597 | 3,261 | 25.2% | 49.0% |
| 7 | HOUSE | FOX | 16,367 | 14,250 | 12,238 | 2,012 | 4,129 | 25.2% | 48.7% |
| 8 | AMAZING RACE 14 | CBS | 8,512 | 7,813 | 6,528 | 1,285 | 1,984 | 23.3% | 64.8% |
| 9 | CHUCK | NBC | 7,725 | 6,885 | 5,944 | 941 | 1,781 | 23.1% | 52.8% |
| 10 | FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS | NBC | 4,588 | 3,929 | 3,539 | 390 | 1,049 | 22.9% | 37.2% |
| 11 | HELL’S KITCHEN | FOX | 7,591 | 6,584 | 5,880 | 704 | 1,711 | 22.5% | 41.1% |
| 12 | GREY’S ANATOMY | ABC | 17,806 | 15,676 | 13,956 | 1,720 | 3,850 | 21.6% | 44.7% |
| 13 | BONES | FOX | 10,994 | 9,543 | 8,626 | 917 | 2,368 | 21.5% | 38.7% |
| 14 | PRIVATE PRACTICE | ABC | 12,935 | 11,231 | 10,363 | 868 | 2,572 | 19.9% | 33.7% |
| 15 | E.R. | NBC | 8,810 | 7,539 | 7,136 | 403 | 1,674 | 19.0% | 24.1% |
| 16 | LIFE ON MARS | ABC | 6,371 | 5,498 | 5,168 | 330 | 1,203 | 18.9% | 27.4% |
| 17 | KNIGHT RIDER | NBC | 5,981 | 5,349 | 4,956 | 393 | 1,025 | 17.1% | 38.3% |
| 18 | LAW AND ORDER | NBC | 8,329 | 7,254 | 6,962 | 292 | 1,367 | 16.4% | 21.4% |
| 19 | MEDIUM | NBC | 10,173 | 9,002 | 8,508 | 494 | 1,665 | 16.4% | 29.7% |
| 20 | SURVIVOR: TOCANTINS | CBS | 14,328 | 13,593 | 11,983 | 1,610 | 2,345 | 16.4% | 68.7% |
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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,
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.

Aww, Chuck made the top ten! That makes me happy. And distracts me while I wait anxiously for last night’s ratings.
Wow baby look at Dollhouse..lol! It hit 5 million. That’s great. If it keeps that up it just might be lucky enough to get renewed. 5 mi. on a Friday nite is like 10 mil. on a weekday isn’t it?
yay, knight rider made it into the top 20
Medium was over 10 million after DVR – thats fantastic for this show. I’m a huge fan, so seeing this gives me hope for next season.
Michael Auseillo of Entertainment Weekly is reporting today that Direct TV and NBC are in active negotiations to co-renew “Friday Night Lights” for TWO more seasons: Seasons 4 and 5. NBC is said to be the one driving the TWO season package. Unbelievably great “almost” news. It shows that ratings alone do not drive the “Renew or Cancel?” decision, but the overall contribution to bottom line profit. “Friday Night Lights” is known for its incredibly inexpensive production process, with no rehearsals, 3 cameras filming at once, and semi-improvised dialogue, filming 4 hour-long episodes in 5 weeks, for example.
House FTW!
anil i doubt it, T:SCC is up to nearly 5 million with DVR’s dont mean it aint dead as a dodo.
Whats with you guys and Chuck? I can’t stand the show
Gamble20, that’s the $64,000 question. I cannot fathom the downright obsession of some people over Chuck. Boggles my mind.
Rob or Bill,
What’s Chuck 18-49 demos with DVR viewing included? I know it’s practically useless for advertisers, but it’s something I’m curious about.