TiVo: Recorded and Internet-Delivered Content Surpasses Live TV Viewership

The DVR company’s audience research unit found that only 38 percent of viewing by its users is live, or 27 percent among users of Netflix, YouTube, Hulu Plus and other Web video options.

NEW YORK – DVR pioneer TiVo on Wednesday said its latest research shows that viewership of recorded TV programs and Internet-delivered content is surpassing live TV viewership.

Looking at Web-connected TiVo devices, nearly two thirds of viewing on them is now driven by delayed TV or online on-demand content, it said. TiVo's audience research division, which tracks anonymous usage across 2 million TiVo devices on a second-by-second basis, said that only 38 percent of viewing is live.

Among users of so-called broadband over-the-top access to Netflix, YouTube, Hulu Plus and other online video options, live viewership amounts to only 27 percent, according to the DVR company.

"This new second-by-second data shows that on demand viewing though a combination of time shifting on the DVR and broadband OTT has become a huge part of the consumer's entertainment mix," said Tara Maitra, senior vp and general manager of content and media sales for TiVo. "It really has become all about whatever they want to watch, whenever they want to watch it."

Said TiVo president and CEO Tom Rogers: "As people watch less live TV, the television industry is being challenged like never before to meet the needs of viewers. For the cable industry, TiVo is the leading provider of advanced television solutions that deliver seamless access to four forms of content - traditional live TV, recordings from TV linear channels, operator video-on-demand, and broadband-delivered video.”

Email: Georg.Szalai@thr.com

Twitter: @georgszalai

