by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, March 19, 2015

According to the recent The Hub Entertainment Research survey, conducted among 1,210 TV viewers aged 16-74 who watch at least 5 hours of TV per week and who have broadband access at home, ad avoidance is a factor in time-shifting, but not the main one. 60% of respondents cited the convenience of watching on their own time as the primary benefit, vs. only 37% saying skipping ads was favored.

Untethering TV from a linear schedule has both invigorated and disrupted the TV industry. Watching on your own schedule has made TV a more compelling entertainment option for consumers. It’s also made back catalogs more accessible, and thus more valuable. But they’ve also put tremendous pressure on how the TV business has traditionally made money: TV shows watched live, with ads.

When it comes to TV viewing, says the report, consumers are increasingly living in the past. 53% of all viewing among consumers16-74 is time shifted, vs. 47% live. 42% prefer watching episodes of a current season via time-shifting, vs. 28% prefer watching live. Among millennials, 61% of viewing is time-shifted

Percentage Of Shows Viewed Per Source Show Source % of Viewers Shows you record on a DVR or TiVO 34% On-Demand service 19 Shows you stream from Netflix 16 Sites or apps from TV networks 8 Shows on Hulu or Hulu Plus 6 Amazon Prime or Amazon Instant 3 The site or app from [PROVIDER] 3 Any other online source 7 Source: Hub Entertainment Research, February 2015

56% of users skip every commercial when viewing from a DVR. And, 49% of VOD viewers fast-forward through every commercial. In aggregate, DVRs and VOD service account for more than half of time shifted viewing.

Top Reasons For Watching Shows Later

60% Watch when convenient

37% See missed episodes

37% Skip ads

34% Can pause or rewind

33% Takes less time to watch

29% Not available during live airing

19% Can watch back-to-back

The report concludes by noting that, with the exception of sports and some reality genres, most TV shows today are watched sometime after they air. All of which makes the question of how to track viewership and monetize programming more challenging, and more urgent, than ever. If anything, time-shifting is only going to increase

Start with the DVR, add VOD, and OTT services, and suddenly the ability to watch TV on your own schedule has shifted from a benefit to an expectation, says the report. In fact, it has become the default. It's all part and parcel of the new mindset that the Internet has wrought. Providers of any service must deliver in a way that meets the consumers' needs, rather than the other way around, concludes the report.

Please visit here to access the complete Hub Time Shifting report in PDF format.