Lost is the number one show recorded on DVR

ABC's "Lost" is so important to viewers that more people store it on their digital video recorders than any other prime-time series, according to a new tally.

More than 1.5 million people record the ABC series for later viewing on their TiVos or other digital recording devices each week, a practice known since the heyday of the VCR as time-shifting. In the new statistics, that figure is counted along with the number of people watching live in Nielsen's survey.

Marketing company Horizon Media has analyzed Nielsen survey figures for DVR and live viewing. According to its figures, "Grey's Anatomy" is the No. 2 time-shifted show, followed closely by NBC's "Heroes."

NBC's Thursday-night comedies - "The Office," "My Name Is Earl," "Scrubs" and "30 Rock" - are recorded by large chunks of their audience.

"I think [NBC executives] would prefer that people were watching NBC live," said Brad Adgate, Horizon's research director.

But since NBC no longer dominates Thursdays, when its comedies are up against "Survivor" and "CSI" on CBS and "Ugly Betty" and "Grey's Anatomy" on ABC, DVR viewing is better than no viewing.

Serialized shows like "Lost" and "Heroes," as well as "The O.C." and "Prison Break" on Fox, tend to be popular with DVR users.

"If it's a good [serialized] series," said Adgate, "people will be inclined to watch it on demand on their own schedule."

Indeed, new technology and the free availability of many series online this season have given viewers more control than ever before, making hard viewing choices a thing of past.

"It kind of debunks counterprogramming," said Adgate. "Counterprogramming is just not as catastrophic as it used to be if you have a DVR."

Or a computer with a broadband connection.

"Today," said Adgate, "there's all sorts of ways of getting back missed opportunities."

Source: NY Daily News