Digital video recorder (DVR) penetration keeps creeping up, along with the specter of skipped television ads.
Three in 10 households now have a DVR, according to Greenfield Online data released in August 2007.
That is even higher than other recent findings. eMarketer predicts that by the end of 2007, 22.1% of US TV households will have a DVR. A survey from Piper Jaffray in early 2007 indicated that 23% of respondents said they owned a DVR.
"Use of DVRs continues to grow steadily in the US as greater numbers of people acquire digital TV services," said eMarketer senior analyst Ben Macklin.
Most research firms that track DVR household numbers estimate at least 50% growth through 2011.
Will TV ad revenue dwindle just because DVR owners can skip through ads? Mr. Macklin doesn't think so.
"Contrary to the views of some analysts and commentators," he said, "data available today currently do not support the idea that increased use of the Internet, DVRs and VOD has stalled the growth of television ad spending or revenues in the US."
Not only do some DVR owners actually like watching ads (as reported previously) but they are also watching more TV. As a result, TV ad revenues continue to grow along with DVR ownership.
Greenfield found that 74% of DVR owners believed the device had changed they way they viewed TV. In fact, more than half of them said they watched "somewhat more" TV since getting a DVR.
People will watch more TV and video content in the future, not less. They will just be doing it in different ways—using their TVs, PCs, portable devices such as mobile phones and the Internet.
The challenge for marketers is to assess which content distribution channels will be the most effective in targeting the desired audience.
If there is one thing the Internet and digital technologies have shown marketers it is that effective marketing uses a multichannel strategy.