Number of US homes with DVRs more than doubles in a year, says Nielsen

October 19, 2007 – The number of US households with a Digital Video Recorder (DVR) more than doubled during the 2006-07 television year, according to new figures from research firm Nielsen.

The number of households with DVRs stands at 20.5% of Nielsen’s National People Meter sample, compared to 17.2% in May 2007.  When Nielsen began including households with DVRs in its samples in January 2006, DVR penetration was estimated to reach approximately 8% of households.

“Television clearly remains a very important part of daily life in the United States,” said Patricia McDonough, Senior Vice President of Planning Policy & Analysis at Nielsen Media Research.  “There are numerous screens competing for time and attention as well as consumer devices providing new ways for viewers to watch their favourite shows.  Regardless, these trends demonstrate that tuning to traditional television remains strong.”

The company went on to say the television watching remains at record levels in the US for the second year running.