Friday, September 4, 2009

People Switching From TVs to PCs

Remember when everyone was worried that the DVR made television advertising obsolete? Well, only about one in every five households has a DVR – but over 75% have access to the Internet at home. As more and more TV shows air online with shorter or no commercials, computers with Internet access are proving to be more of a threat than DVRs.

Interestingly, Magid Media Futures did a recent online national study and found that the foremost reason people watched shows online wasn’t necessarily to escape commercials. They usually watched shows online so they could catch their favorites at a more convenient time.

However, that doesn’t mean that escaping commercials isn’t still a factor. Commercials online are both shorter and less frequent than TV ads.

Online media buyers can count themselves fortunate in this respect, though: Consumers may be more likely to watch online ads. With the shorter viewing time, it’s less likely that they’ll get up for a five-minute trip to the kitchen, and there is no ad skipping online.