IMMI, the innovative media measurement company, has just released some data about viewing of primetime TV shows, focusing on consumers' use of DVRs and online to supplement or replace live TV viewing. Some of the findings are unsurprising; for example, online viewers are typically "affluent, well-educated, 25- to 44-year-old working professionals ... who don't have time to be tied down to live television-viewing schedules." But buried in the report is one really interesting finding: namely, that of those who use either a DVR or online to time-shift primetime TV, 80% use online, while only 25% use a DVR. Personally, I find that pretty striking, since ceteris paribus, most people still prefer to watch long-form TV shows on a TV set. So, what are the advantages of online, compared to a DVR, that drive people to watch TV shows on a PC? Two important ones must be:

• It's portable, allowing both time and place shifting: you can watch at work or in the den or in a hotel room, so it's more flexible and you're not competing with other family members for access to the main TV set (where the DVR is likely to be).
• It requires less time management: it's available on demand whenever you want to watch it, and you don't need to remember to program the DVR in advance.

This second point is reminiscent of the iPlayer data released by the BBC in the U.K., stating that streaming is more popular than downloading by a factor of about 8 to 1. It seems that, yet again, people want instant gratification without forward planning, and they're prepared to sacrifice quality for that convenience.

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I don't believe those numbers. I know one person that watches shows regularly online while everyone uses a DVR. Sound shady.