Audio Video News

Would it surprise you to learn that DVR-owners seem to be slightly nerdier than the rest of the TV-watching population? Probably not. Data from Nielsen during the last week of March proves that while the most popular shows on TiVo are similar to the most popular shows on broadcast TV (American Idol, CSI: Miami, Dancing With The Stars), several shows with relatively low broadcast ratings seem to get a huge chunk of their meager audience from TiVo-wielding fans.

The geekiest clue has “geek” in the title.

The show Beauty and the Geek gained nearly 30% more viewers after it aired. So, DVR-owners like to live vicariously through a nerdy reality TV contestant who tries to woo the hot girl. Not so surprising.

How about this one: Smallville. Its audience grew about 28% with DVR-watchers. The show is popular enough without DVR-owners, but with them, the show got the second biggest boost of any show besides Beauty and the Geek. Die-hard Smallville fans are probably the type that go in for comic books, sci-fi and other non-mainstream pursuits. And they also have DVRs. —Rachel Rosmarin

TV By The Numbers