Networks and advertisers alike are understandably worried that the commercial-obliterating magic of DVR would render ad spots irrelevant. The fears are unfounded, according to Duke University business professor Carl Mela, whose study found that the Aflac duck and Verizon Can You Hear Me Now Guy won’t go down so easily.

Mela provides these reasons in a Triangle Business Journal story:

• He says about 95 percent of people still watch television live and, as a result, cannot fast forward through the commercials.

• Even those without a DVR can skip commercials by using the breaks to go to the kitchen or flip to a different channel.

• While viewers fast-forwarded through about 70 percent of the commercials in shows they recorded, they still watch the screen to know where to resume play, meaning they are still being exposed to the advertisements.

• And the ability to record a show and watch it later means consumers are watching more television.

Since Duke won the men’s basketball national championship, the school must know what it’s talking about.

If you have a DVR, how has the device changed your commercial viewing habits?

Duke study: TiVo doesn’t hurt TV advertising [Triangle Business Journal via High-Def Digest]

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