Satellite : DVR Use Rising, Impact Diminishing

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According to a report released last week by ad research firm Magna Global, a full 44 percent of U.S. households will be using digital video recorders by the end of 2014, accounting for some 52.3 million households.

Overall, however, the doom-and-gloom scenarios involving DVRs and the end of ad-supported likely won't come to pass. In fact, Magna said that by 2014 DVRs will likely only contribute to a four percent erosion in total viewing impressions as the technology's impact is offset by increases in the number of total households and by overall TV consumption. According to the group, total TV viewing impressions in 2014 will be up 20 percent from 2004.

“While DVRs will continue to disproportionately impact younger target audiences and network prime time, the aging of our society and the gradually eroding importance of network prime time will likely render such targets incrementally less important in the years ahead,” said Brian Wieser, Magna senior VP and director of industry analysis.