Smartphones, not DVRs, are the biggest threat to TV commercials

[zerocool84]

TV viewers are a famously fickle bunch, which tends to drive TV advertisers crazy. The prevalent theory remains that skipping past ads using a pesky DVR is the biggest enemy of marketers, but new research has once again contradicted that received wisdom. The IPG Media Lab in Los Angeles pulled together a representative group of 48 TV and online video viewers and asked them to sit through some programming while equipped with the usual "devices or distractions" that accompany their viewing habits. Central to the study was the measurement of time each person spent facing the screen and how engaged they were with the content. The first thing noted was that 94 percent of TV viewers and 73 percent of online video consumers used some other form of media to augment their visual entertainment. Smartphones were the most common, with 60 percent of test subjects resorting to their handset while gawking at the TV. That's resulted in a mediocre 52 percent attention level during actual programs and 37 percent during ads. In other words, two thirds of the time, commercials are being ignored and smartphones are helping people with that heinous behavior. Ironically, fast-forwarding adverts using a DVR garnered attention levels that were 12 percent higher, mostly because people were trying to make sure they didn't skip too far ahead. Damn, why does reality have to be all complex and stuff?

Do you guys do this?

http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/27/smartphones-not-dvrs-are-the-biggest-threat-to-tv-adverts/

 

[TwiceOver]

A group of 48? That doesn't seem like a lot to me.

 

[Numenorean]

Nope. I use a DVR and skip commercials. Majority of time I spend watching TV is baseball, which has a very consistent 2.5 minute break between half innings. I just hit my DVR skip button 5 times, and let it go from there.

 

[Doppel]

I have tv on now while I am on AT. However, when we watch tv we do watch it DVRed and i have developed such a hate for commercials that I will do my best to avoid watching a show that we haven't even had a chance yet to record by letting it buffer in the background while I watch something else--even if it doesn't interest me much.

When I watch Hulu and the 1 minute ad comes on I hit mute on my laptop and then surf the news for a minute. That is how much I f**king hate advertisements. I feel they steal not only my time but also my view of the world.

 

[preslove]

I've only watched 1 episode of tv on my smartphone. I haven't bought a TV yet (sold the old), so I watch all my tv on computers. Netflix + Hulu + torrents + pirate sports feeds = no cable needed. I've come to enjoy watching sports with spanish language commentary

 

[Hoober]

My kids don't even know what commercials are.

 

[AstroManLuca]

I don't watch TV as it's broadcast, I watch it on Netflix or something. No ads.

 

[xanis]

I have tv on now while I am on AT. However, when we watch tv we do watch it DVRed and i have developed such a hate for commercials that I will do my best to avoid watching a show that we haven't even had a chance yet to record by letting it buffer in the background while I watch something else--even if it doesn't interest me much.

When I watch Hulu and the 1 minute ad comes on I hit mute on my laptop and then surf the news for a minute. That is how much I f**king hate advertisements. I feel they steal not only my time but also my view of the world.

I'm in the same boat as you. If commercials are on, I'm doing something else to occupy my time until the the stuff that I actually want to watch comes back on.

 

[oogabooga]

I don't watch TV as it's broadcast, I watch it on Netflix or something. No ads.

I get most of my media via some form of no-ad system. I still usually am on a computer/laptop.

(Ex: Right now I'm watching a movie while I type this )

 

[RockinZ28]

Guilty. I mostly watch live sports, tablet or smartphone is viewed during the breaks.

 

[Bill Brasky]

Yep. If I'm watching live sports at home, I *always* have my laptop or smartphone handy. Otherwise I skip through commercials with DVR, but still have my phone out.

 

[MotF Bane]

Laptop works for me, but then again, I just got my smartphone. We'll see.

 

[lord_emperor]

I ignore the commercial or sometimes, as wierd as it is, I have a conversation with my girlfriend or do something that doesn't directly involve an electronic device.

 

[Jeff7]

I don't really buy anything because of commercials anyway, so...oh well. Sorry, marketing departments.
And Hulu always tells me that there might be a problem with my connection, because they can't seem to load any ad content on my PC. Adblock + hosts file blacklisting.

 

[PottedMeat]

i usually watch tv with my tv tuner, commercial comes on, click mute, browse internets with adblock+noscript :biggrin:.



the commercials i do watch are on youtube, usually because someone else said they were interesting lol.

 

[Sureshot324]

The only thing I watch on live TV is NBA games, and yeah I'm always on my smart phone during the commercials but that doesn't mean they don't register in my brain at all. I still subconsciously hear and see them even if I'm not focused on them.

 

[nonameo]

truman-show style product placement.

 

[ultimatebob]

truman-show style product placement.

This. The Apprentice already has this figured out... it's practically an 44 minute long infomercial for their corporate sponsor that week.

 

[02ranger]

Haha. I'm reading the forums on my smart phone during a commercial break right now. Do it all the time.