(Photo: Tengaport)

According to new ratings numbers from Nielsen that take into account consumers who watch recorded programs up to three days after they were aired, about half of DVR owners don't skip commercials.

From the AP:

"The numbers are exactly what we thought," said Alan Wurtzel, president of research at NBC Universal. He said the data for some shows, such as "The Office," — which he said had higher C3 ratings than traditional ratings — "confirm our concern that we need to get credit for time-shifted viewing." Other NBC shows, like "Law and Order: SVU," had lower C3 ratings.

The new system is a compromise between advertisers and broadcasters after years of squabbling over the best way to measure how many people watch commercials.

Last year, Nielsen began measuring DVR viewership over the seven days following the original prime-time telecast. The networks argued that those numbers — which added as many as 2 million viewers for some shows — should be used as the basis for ad rates. But the advertisers countered that many DVR users fast-forward through the ads, so they would be paying for nothing.

It turned out that nearly half of DVR users actually watch commercials, according to data Nielsen released in May. The two sides settled on the three-day period because Nielsen says 95 percent of all DVR viewing for prime-time shows is done within that period.

Brill said the new ratings are only a "baby step" in the direction of measuring actual commercial viewership. That's because C3 rates the average viewers during all commercial minutes of a program, not for specific commercials. She wants Nielsen to deliver by-the-second ratings.

"Then," she said, "we'll know exactly what we're paying for."

"Even without a DVR, 12% of CBS'"60 Minutes" and Fox's "Don't Forget the Lyrics" missed the commercials."

Between DVR watching and live broadcast, CBS's Survivor: China brought in 6.51 million viewers, and 5.23 million of them watched the commercials.

Only 5.16 million people watched it live. Where did the rest come from? DVRs. Conclusion: People watch commercials. Why? No clue.

Answer to Vexing Question: Who's Not Watching Ads [WSJ]
Few Surprises As Nielsen Rates Ads [AP]
(Photo:Jerry7171)

I've been a Consumerist reader going on a year now. I haven't missed an article. Reading my Consumerist RSS feed is a standard part of my daily routine. Come to think of it, maybe I have a problem. Ha ha ha

You had recently provided the contact info for Chase Carey's office, the President of DirecTV, and I decided to give it a call yesterday. I thought I'd let you know how everything turned out.

Some background info...

Over the past 2 years, I have had several problems with one of my DirecTV receivers (I have two total). Over time, DirecTV had replaced one of the receivers several times - with refurbished units. Of course, I still had to pay a fee for the replacement receiver. To date, every refurbished receiver has malfunctioned at some point. When asked them why I couldn't get a new receiver, I was told they don't supply those to customers unless they wanted to pay full cost for them. Sounds like DirecTV, doesn't it?

I recently decided to call for another receiver again....

My current one is now malfunctioning and won't stay on for more than an hour. It freezes up and must be reset at some point nearly every hour it's on. Over the past 2 weeks, I made 8 calls to DirecTV's customer service area. During that time, they hung up on me three times, I was told their system was updating another three times - and that they'd take my contact info and call me back within 48 hours - and was told there was nothing they could do for me the other two times. Regarding the three times they hung up on me, I have no clue as to why they did it. We weren't in a confrontational call and they weren't trying to transfer me to someone else. It seems like they just didn't know what to do so they decided to hang up on me. On the other calls where I gave them my contact info, I never received a call back.

So - I remembered Mr. Carey's contact info was on the Consumerist website and I decided to give his office a call. In my most professional voice, I asked for 'Mr. Carey's office, please'. I was immediately transferred to 'Shannon' in Mr. Carey's office. When asked if he was available, Shannon indicated he was not available (of course) but that she would do her best to help me. I explained my situation to her and she was very apologetic for what I had recently been through. However, she said she needed to call me back the next day. Why, you wonder? Well, of course, their system was updating and she wasn't able to view my account information.

To my delight, I actually did receive a return call from Shannon this morning. In the end, she apologized again for what I had been through and said they were sending a brand new DirecTV HD DVR to me for $20 (shipping cost). Additionally, she is crediting to me the $5.95 fee for the DVR service for 1 year and they are installing the 2nd line into my home at no fee as well. Mind you, the HD DVR receiver is a $300 unit at the local Best Buy - unless they're choosing to quote you a price off of their internal intranet site. We all know the price would be $400 at that point. Ha ha ha

By the way, Shannon assured me they would be discussing my experience with the leaders in charge of their customer service areas. However, you'll have to forgive me for my lack of confidence that anything will dramatically improve anytime soon.

Thank you, Consumerist. Without your help, I would have been stuck in a never-ending cycle of terrible customer service.

You're the best! Keep up the great work. Rock on!

- Dave

Chase Carey's contact info:
chase.carey@directv.com
800-666-4388 or
310-964-5000 (wait through the recording and hold for the operator)

The super calm and professional voice is key. We even try to sound like we're actually bored sometimes. Works like a charm. Reading this post so you know what to do once you're talking to the executive assistant also works like a charm. Remember, you're not actually calling Chase Carey, you just want to speak with the highest ranking minion directly under him. She/he is the one that is going to make the magic. Be firm, but polite. — BEN POPKEN

PREVIOUSLY: DirectTV CEO's Contact Info

[AT&T] this week began offering its "Homezone" customers the ability to control their digital video recorders through Web-enabled phones. The interface lets cell phone users schedule or delete recordings on their set-top boxes from anywhere.

Homezone is a $10-per-month product for subscribers of the Dish Network satellite TV service. It includes a set-top box that brings content from the Internet to televisions, such as on-demand movies, plus caller ID information from the phone and photos from the home computer.

Using the Cell Phone As a Remote [Chicago Tribune]
(Photo: Westernlady)

When major corporations suddenly find that their business model is slaloming down the technological curve into obsolescence, they almost always do one thing: bully, strong-arm, lobby and sue anyone they can get their hands on to artificially preserve themselves. You saw it with the RIAA; you saw it with the MPAA. And now network television is getting in on the act, because Tivos kill ad revenue.

It's a tough pickle for the networks, alright. They require people to view ads to pay for their shows, but technology means people don't have to watch them anymore. We're a little unclear how DVRs are any different than VCRs in their capability to skip ads, but whatever: one thing's for sure, we can probably expect a lot of obnoxious moves to try to trick us into watching ads before the battle's inevitably lost by ABC.

Oh, hey! Here's the first one!

ABC wants to kill DVR ad-skipping [Ad Jab]