DVR, Once TV’s Mortal Foe, Helps Ratings

“According to Nielsen, 46 percent of viewers 18 to 49 years old for all four (ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC) networks taken together are watching the commercials during (DVR) playback, up slightly from last year.”

According to this New York Times article, “… those passive viewers are watching in numbers big enough to turn… some middling successes (“How I Met Your Mother” on CBS) into healthier profit centers, and some seemingly endangered shows (“Heroes” on NBC) into possible survivors.”

© 2009 The New York Times Company