Nearly a century ago, Albert Einstein declared that time was relative. At that time, few people understood what he meant.
Now, zipping forward, many viewers have a virtual time machine sitting next to their television sets.
According to a study from NBC.com, conducted by InsightExpress, 78% of the viewers using the NBC Rewind online service watched a television episode they had missed on broadcast TV.
Additionally, 26% of respondents said they used the site to re-watch all or part of an episode they had previously seen, and 34% said they watched a show they had never seen before.
"Contrary to conventional wisdom, consumers are ready to watch long-form entertainment on the Web," said Jeff Gaspin, president of digital content and cross network strategy at NBC Universal, "and we plan on making more available."
To date, nearly seven million users have streamed almost 42 million videos on the NBC site.
In good news for advertisers, 81% of the online viewers recalled the pre-roll ads that ran before the episodes they saw after two or more exposures, and 72% said the ads were less disruptive than traditional advertising.