On cable, gigantic gains from DVRs

Cable viewers have taken control of their own scheduling.

A growing number of shows now have substantially larger audiences watching via DVRs than watching the program when it airs live.

A couple of shows even have double the number of people time-shifting as they do watching the shows in their regular timeslots.

During the week ended April 3, the most recent seven-day playback numbers available, FX’s “The Americans” and CMT’s “Redneck Island” both saw 200 percent increases from live-plus-same-day (LSD) to live-plus-seven-day DVR playback (L+7).

Granted, they grew from small bases. “Americans” jumped from a 0.2 adults 18-49 Nielsen rating to a 0.6, and “Island” increased from a 0.1 to a 0.3.

But that’s an incredible stat, to see that big of a jump. It means people are consciously choosing when to watch the shows and don’t feel the need to stick to the cable time grid.

Cable had six more shows that jumped by at least 150 percent in L+7 and 12 that had bigger DVR audiences than L+SD.

The shows include a number that skew young, such as Freeform’s “Baby Daddy,” “Young & Hungry” and “Shadowhunters.” The network targets 12-34s, so the big DVR viewership makes sense.

Likewise, FX’s “Archer” does well with men 18-34, an audience you’d expect to be very tech-savvy and DVR-dependent.

But the list also includes shows that skew a bit older, such as “American Crime Story: The People vs. O.J. Simpson” and Showtime’s “Billions.”

And the list of huge gainers will only get bigger. It’s clear people are starting to prefer watching shows on their own schedule, rather than being beholden to the ones set up by the networks.

There will come a time, sooner than many probably expect, when dozens of shows will see 100 percent or higher L+7 gains, and that’s going to mean more adjustment for advertising, too, to ensure people are seeing the ads being paid for in a timely manner.

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In cable ratings for the week ended April 17:

Top five networks in primetime (18-49s): ESPN, TBS, TNT, USA, Adult Swim.

Top five networks in primetime (total viewers): Fox News Channel, TBS, HGTV, ESPN, TNT.

Top five total-day networks (total viewers): Nickelodeon, Fox News Channel, Adult Swim, Disney Channel, HGTV.

Top cable news networks in primetime (total viewers): Fox News Channel, CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, HLN, FBN, Al Jazeera America.

Top five cable news programs (total viewers): 1. CNN’s “New York Democratic Debate” (Thursday, 9 p.m.); 2. Fox News Channel’s “The O’Reilly Factor” (Monday, 8 p.m.); 3. Fox News Channel’s “The Kelly File” (Thursday, 9 p.m.); 4. Fox News Channel’s “The O’Reilly Factor” (Thursday, 8 p.m.); 5. Fox News Channel’s “The O’Reilly Factor” (Tuesday, 8 p.m.)

Top movie (total viewers): Hallmark Channel’s “Love By Chance,” (Saturday, 9 p.m.) 2.19 million.

Top sporting event (total viewers): TNT’s “NBA Basketball: Memphis/San Antonio” (Sunday, 9 p.m.) 5.47 million.

Show on the rise: OWN’s “If Loving You is Wrong,” Tuesday, 9 p.m. The drama averaged 2.20 million total viewers, up 12 percent from 1.96 million the previous week.

Show on the decline: Discovery Channel’s “Naked and Afraid,” Sunday, 10 p.m. The reality show slipped 11 percent week-to-week among total viewers, from 2.40 million to 2.13 million.

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