Logo

NBC Series Breaks DVR Ratings Record

Oct 21, 2013  •  Post A Comment

An NBC drama series just broke a DVR ratings record, achieving a milestone as the first broadcast TV series to attract more than 6 million viewers via playback in the first seven days after broadcast. The series is the new James Spader drama "The Blacklist," EW.com’s Inside TV reports.

The record was noted after Nielsen released its full DVR data for the second week of the new season, the story says. The show drew 11.4 million viewers on its premiere night, but that jumped to 17.9 million in its first full seven days. The number for premiere night includes DVR playback that night.

"The Blacklist" gained a hefty 67% in viewers 18-49 from the Day 1 metric to the 7-day measure. A couple of other NBC shows were in that same ballpark — even eclipsing "The Blacklist" by that measure — with "Parenthood" gaining 69% and "Revolution" gaining 68%.

Fox’s "New Girl" had the biggest gain of any show on the major broadcast networks, rising 85%. Other Fox shows benefiting greatly from DVR use included "Brooklyn Nine-Nine," up 73%, and "Sleepy Hollow," up 70%. "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" just received a full-season order from Fox, as we reported separately.

CBS was paced in percentage gain via DVR by "Elementary, which rose 77%. ABC’s top gainers were "Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.," up 67%, and "Nashville," up 66%.

Thumbnail image for the-blacklist.jpg

3 Comments

  1. Sorry NBC’ PR (and FOX’s PR), but saying your have “record” Live+7 numbers is like a theater saying it had record numbers of people who showed up after the play closed.
    It’s immaterial nonsense.
    Notice also that most of the shows that claim “great” DVR numbers are flops?
    Why then the “great” DVR numbers? Because they’re an indicator, not of greatness as this article would have us think, but of shows that viewers don’t really care about and may or may not watch.
    In the end, they become shows people don’t watch (like New Girl and it’s new record low this week!!)
    As for percentages, they look all the more impressive the fewer people watched live. Not something I’d brag about personally…

  2. How, then would you explain the success of Netflix and to go back further, vhs tapes.
    Trust me when I tell you that the DVR can be accurately measured as to what house watched it, when it was watched and for how long. They are way more accurate than the old methodology of Nielsen since it’s inception.

  3. Sorry, Rena, I disagree with you. The reason people DVR programs is not due to the lack of interest in the show but is done for a number of reasons. I personally DVR all my shows to ensure I DO see them, that way I’m not tied to my TV, and I can watch them when it suits my schedule not the networks’. And I do watch every episode I DVR. So it’s about time Nielsen figured out a way to capture viewers watching shows DVR’d … although I find Nielsen ratings to be flawed in every way possible so I take this research with a grain of a salt just like I do with their “live” viewing research.

Your Comment

Email (will not be published)