With communication technology changing every day, one of the most recent innovations in regards to television to effect people has been the creation of Digital Video Recorders (DVR). The impact of DVR technology on people is similar to that of the VCR, as television viewers are given more control as to when they wish to watch programs. The current popularity of DVR is growing at an extremely rapid rate with Standard and Poor’s estimating DVR penetration by the end of 2007 at 20%. (Grant & Meadows, 29). DVRs first became popular as many manufacturers began introducing them to the market, such as TiVo. Recently, cable companies such as TimeWarner have caught on and began including DVR in certain cable packages at reasonable prices.

DVR technology has a large effect on companies that rely on commercial advertising. While before, zapping occurred and viewers could switch the channel and skip most of the advertisements. Now, however, DVR technology allows a person to partake in zipping, which has the ability to eliminate all commercials. (class notes) While a benefit for consumers, advertising companies have been hit hard by the recent rise in DVR penetration. Advertisers are fighting back and have been hard at work developing strategies to engage people in commercials. Many advertisers are looking ahead at such ideas as sponsored ads that are already appearing during online viewing of shows. This will allow for no ad interruptions and provide a longer ad at the beginning and another at the end. (class notes)

Along with the freedom to control television, zipping also has a very positive impact on children. Children’s advertised product requests are an important predictor of several unintended effects of advertising, such as parent–child conflict and bad eating habits. Several studies have demonstrated, for instance, that children’s advertising-induced product requests often result in parent–child conflict. (Buijzen)

So while the impact of this new technology has shown to be a negative for advertisers, it is very beneficial for its users. With VCR technology, it was only possible to view a program once it was finished recording. DVR technology allows users to start watching immediately after recording. Also, DVR is tapeless, meaning that the media and tool are one in the same allowing for much more efficient discarding process. DVR technology is user-friendly in that it provides the option for viewers to keep programs for as long as they desire and has the option to record even entire series of television shows.

The DVR is tilting the playing field in the television industry, empowering viewers at the expense of advertisers and networks. Available evidence suggests that DVR users will fast-forward through ads in recorded programming at the expense of other advertisement avoidance strategies. While DVRs may increase commercial avoidance, they will also facilitate the measurement of commercial avoidance. Advertisers can use ad avoidance data to improve creative strategies, targeting, message rotation and scheduling, media buying, and return on investment measurements. The net result should be more relevant, engaging, and efficient advertising, which would reduce viewers' motivation to avoid ads. (Gips, 2008)



Buijzen, M. (2007). Reducing children's susceptibility to commercials: Mechanisms of factual
and evaluative advertising interventions. Media Psychology, 9(2), 411-430.

Gips, S. A. (2008). Breaking Through Fast-Forwarding: Brand Information and Visual Attention. Journal of Marketing.

Grant, A. E., & Meadows, J. H. (2008). Communication Technology Update and Fundamentals
11th Edition. Burlington, MA: Elsevier.