Survey: Nearly half of DVR users still watch the commercials

Isn't the best thing about having a DVR (besides the ability to record shows for later viewing, of course) the fast-forward button on the remote control, perfect to zapping through all those endless Geiko, Cialis, and Progressive ads?

That's what I thought, too, but it turns out that almost half of DVR users don't bother skipping the ads when playing back their shows.

So says Nielsen (as reported by the New York Times), which found that a full 46 percent of 18-to-49 year-old TV viewers with DVRs still watch the commercials, a fact that's puzzling to me but thrilling to network executives.

OK, so why are so many couch potatoes still watching Bud Light ads on their DVRs when they could be skipping ahead? A couple of reasons, according to the Times story: TV is "still a passive activity," as one researcher put it (meaning that people someones "just forget" to press the fast-forward button), and the commercials themselves are "being made better" (although even assuming that's true, I wish I didn't have to see the same clever Geiko commercial 50 times over).

Now, before anyone starts mocking these listless DVR users who are too lazy to whip through recorded TV ads, consider this: they might be helping to save your favorite shows from extinction, especially if you're a "Heroes" or "Fringe" fan.

As the Times reports, ratings for marginal or struggling shows like "How I Met Your Mother," "Heroes," and "Fringe" have gotten a substantial—and unexpected—boost thanks to Nielsen's new "commercial-plus-three" ratings, which gauge the number of eyeballs watching the ads for a given show within a three-day window of its initial live broadcast.

Indeed, it turns out that ratings for the four big networks are getting an average 10-percent boost across the board once DVR viewing figures are stirred into the mix, according to the Times.

Just to be clear: you're not going to catch me "forgetting" to fast-forward though those ads of the couples lounging in separate bathtubs on a hillside (don't they get cold?). But if the people who are still watching the ads are helping keep "Mad Men" on AMC's schedule, well ... hey, guess I owe them a tip of my fedora.

So, quick survey for you DVR users out there: Do you ever find yourself watching the ads during a recorded show? If so, why?

Related:
DVR, Once TV’s Mortal Foe, Helps Ratings [NYT]