Do You TiVo or Are You Nielsen?
By KATE AURTHUR
Published: December 26, 2004
Looking at the 10 top-rated 2004 prime-time programs on TiVo, the digital recording device, you almost feel sorry for the 2.3 million subscribers: are their lives empty in a world without new "Friends"? Episodes of the departed sitcom fill six of the slots in the Top 10. TiVo-ers favored "Friends" much more than general viewers, only two of those episodes (the May 6 finale and the retrospective that preceded it) are on Nielsen's list of the 10 most highly rated shows of the year.
Both Nielsen families and TiVo users watched the Academy Awards and the "Survivor" that followed the Super Bowl. But beyond that, the differences in the viewing patterns are striking. Most saliently, "Friends" is to TiVo what "CSI" is to Nielsen: four episodes of "CSI" appear on the Nielsen list, while none are in TiVo's Top 10. Instead, TiVo owners favored "My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiancé" and the first season of "The Apprentice," which, despite its high overall ratings, didn't crack Nielsen's year-end Top 10.
Only one new fall show has an episode in Tivo's Top 25, "Desperate Housewives," which is No. 2 in the overall Nielsen ratings for the fall season. We will have to wait until next year to see whether the housewives of Wisteria Lane can rival the New York City "Friends" in the hearts of TiVo devotees.
TIVO
1. "Friends," May 6 (finale)
2. Academy Awards, Feb. 29
3. "Survivor: All-Stars," Feb. 1
4. "Friends," May 6 (retrospective special)
5. "Friends," April 29
6. "Friends," Feb. 12
7. "My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance," Feb. 23
8. "The Apprentice," April 15
9. "Friends," Feb. 5
10. "Friends," April 22
NIELSEN
1. "Friends," May 6 (finale)
2. Academy Awards, Feb. 29
3. "Friends," May 6 (retrospective special)
4. "Survivor: All-Stars," Feb. 1
5. Summer Olympics, Aug. 19
6. "CSI," Nov. 18
7. American League Championship Series Game 7, Oct. 20 (Red Sox 10, Yankees 3)
8. "CSI," Feb. 12
9. "CSI," Feb. 19
10. "CSI," Sept. 23 |
