In Praise of the DVR

Posted by Bob Greenberger on December 21, 2006

Deb and I are slowly catching up on our prime time television watching. Thanks to the DVR, we’ve managed to stockpile plenty so as each series goes into winter reruns, we can begin watching new shows from their season debuts. We’re caught up on all the network shows and have begun with season two of Dr. Who with Battlestar Galactica waiting patiently.

It hasn’t hurt that some shows we recorded got canceled so we can delete them without making the emotional investment in the characters or situations. That being said, I find the following Neilsen information interesting since we actually DVR’d 5 of these 10 (including the first three), only dropping The Nine when ABC yanked it.

Top 10 “Timeshifted” Primetime TV Programs – 2006
Program/Network % Viewership Increase
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip – NBC 10.9
Heroes – NBC 9.1
Gilmore Girls – CW 7.9
America’s Next Top Model – CW 7.7
30 Rock – NBC 7.5
Friday Night Lights – NBC 7.5
The Nine – ABC 6.7
Supernatural – CW 6.7
Kidnapped – NBC 6.6
One Tree Hill – CW 6.6
Smallville – CW 6.6

The DVR has also freed us to grab various and sundry oddities that catch our eye. I’m pulling movies off the various premium channels that one or the other of us want to see. I even spotted an old Victor Borge special on PBS that I recorded to introduce Robbie to his work (and now that my in-laws are coming for Christmas, I know my mother-in-law will love it too). Some things we’ve recorded specifically to burn onto DVD for Kate, which we’ll hand deliver in just three weeks.

Some technology takes its time being adopted, some fit right in. The DVR and DVD burner have slipped right into our lives at a terrific time.