This thread is for questions and thoughts about live and delayed viewing of TV programs and how it may affect advertising revenue.

In this day and age, fewer and fewer people are watching TV programs (mostly scripted ones) "live" (meaning they air in a certain timeslot), and are using DVRs (Digital Video Recorders) so they can watch the program at anytime they want. I understand that there is just no way to stop the gradual decline of ratings of the main commercial broadcast networks, but if ratings and viewership for their programs decline, then this would mean advertising revenue for those programs declines as well.

I found some info on howstuffworks.com about DVR ratings (including Live-plus-same-day, Live-plus-three and Live-plus-seven): http://people.howstuffworks.com/culture-traditions/tv-and-culture/dvr-viewings-tv-ratings1.htm

I had this thought:

"Sorry, but live-only ratings are the ratings that matter to the advertisers. I think the advertisers probably do not care about the programs they advertise on and the content on those programs. They only care if the people viewing those programs are actually watching the commercial breaks within them.

For example, if a viewer watches a time-sensitive advertisement, like for a sale or a sweepstakes or an upcoming film's release, on a DVR-recorded program within the L+3 or L+7 (or C+3 or C+7) period, would the view still be counted in the L+3/L+7 (or C+3/C+7) ratings/viewership? I'm not sure."