# How Much "Time Shifted" TV Do You Watch? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 9, 2010, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-time-shifted-tv-do-you-watch/553204 "2010-09-09T17:42:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-time-shifted-tv-do-you-watch/553204/1 "2010-09-09T17:42:53Z")
There was a blip in Broadcasting and Cable magazine about how Nielsen just released that 36% of all TV programs watched per week are time shifted. In otherwords they are recorded and played back at a later time. So do you time shift? If so are you time shifting more or less than the average? ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-time-shifted-tv-do-you-watch/553204/2 "2010-09-09T17:45:30Z")
Almost all of it. Even live sporting events I’ll usually join 30-45 minutes in progress and start at the beginning so I can FF through commercials. The only time I watch live TV is in the kitchen, where we don’t have a DVR, so I’ll watch whatever is on – usually the news, a cooking show or some movie that I don’t have to pay a lot of attention to. ---
**Author:** ![AmunRa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@AmunRa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AmunRa)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-time-shifted-tv-do-you-watch/553204/3 "2010-09-09T17:45:52Z")
I don’t have a TV, all of the shows I watch I get from the internet… So I guess that’s 100%? ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-time-shifted-tv-do-you-watch/553204/4 "2010-09-09T17:46:22Z")
I think you need many more options. I have a ReplayTV and a full 100% of the TV I watch is time shifted. Commercials? What are those? ---
**Author:** ![Meltdown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Meltdown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meltdown)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-time-shifted-tv-do-you-watch/553204/5 "2010-09-09T17:46:31Z")
I’d say I time-shift about 90% of the time. The only times I don’t time shift is when there’s something on that I want to watch live for some reason (e.g., the Oscars – I want to know who wins at the same time eveyrone else does) or when I’m just channel surfing to see what’s on. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-time-shifted-tv-do-you-watch/553204/6 "2010-09-09T17:49:11Z")
Other than Braves games, and barring abnormalities like days off from work when I’m liable to watch whatever day-long marathon USA has on, almost everything I watch is time-shifted. ---
**Author:** ![Postariti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Postariti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Postariti)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-time-shifted-tv-do-you-watch/553204/7 "2010-09-09T18:09:10Z")
I almost always time shift. I like to skip the ads. The only time I watch TV “live” is when I’m bored, and just want something bland to kill the time. Any show I really like gets time shifted. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-time-shifted-tv-do-you-watch/553204/8 "2010-09-09T18:14:46Z")
I time shift almost 100% of the time. I like bending the TV schedule to my desires. I can sleep, read, or play a game while the DVR is recording something. I’ll record movies overnight so that I can watch them any time I want. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-time-shifted-tv-do-you-watch/553204/9 "2010-09-09T18:21:20Z")
100%. I don’t watch any “live” tv anymore. If it’s a show I must watch now, I’ll still start watching it about 20 minutes after it starts. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-time-shifted-tv-do-you-watch/553204/10 "2010-09-09T18:22:25Z")
Even shows we watch “live” will be shifted 5 minutes or so at the start so we can blast through commercials. ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-time-shifted-tv-do-you-watch/553204/11 "2010-09-09T18:22:26Z")
Zero. I don’t even bother with it (never had a DVR). There’s not much I need to make a effort to capture. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-time-shifted-tv-do-you-watch/553204/12 "2010-09-09T18:25:26Z")
I went with less. We DVR almost all the TV shows we watch, but to say they are time-shifted is inaccurate. Only those that are on at the same time as others in that slot are delayed by more than 20-30 minutes. We have the DVR set in case we miss something, but we only rarely do miss them. The best thing about the 20-30 minutes is that we zip through the commercials. By giving a show maybe 10 minutes head start (while we do something else to let it get a little ahead) we can FF the commercials and come out close to the right time it ends. That’s how much we hate the delays to the show itself caused by commercials. If we cheated by going with “less” please adjust my response. ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-time-shifted-tv-do-you-watch/553204/13 "2010-09-09T18:27:33Z")
Another “you ended way too low on the poll” response. I can’t remember the last time I watched something at the time it was broadcast – I’d have to think to remember how to do it, since the TV comes up to the Tivo automatically. Probably watched the New Year’s ball drop “live”, but since I’m on the inferior coast, even that was a rebroadcast. ---
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-time-shifted-tv-do-you-watch/553204/14 "2010-09-09T18:38:57Z")
I don’t watch any time shifted stuff. It is cheating. Part of watching TV is re-scheduling your life around the times your favorite shows on. Damn kids these days with their VCRs and DVRs are ruining the television experience ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-time-shifted-tv-do-you-watch/553204/15 "2010-09-09T18:47:34Z")
Probably about 90%. There’s the rare occasion when I want to watch something around the same time as it’s broadcast, and I don’t have the patience to pause it for 10 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Headrush042](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a5b964/32.png) [@Headrush042](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Headrush042)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-time-shifted-tv-do-you-watch/553204/16 "2010-09-09T18:48:25Z")
Most of what I watch is done streaming online via hulu or the official website – or I’ve missed part or all of the season and end up with the DVD via Netflix. In other words, over 90% time shifted. I prefer watching on my schedule over that of the broadcast company’s. ETA: Not having to sit through commercials is just a secondary bonus for me. ---
**Author:** ![sachertorte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sachertorte/32/3727_2.png) [@sachertorte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sachertorte)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-time-shifted-tv-do-you-watch/553204/17 "2010-09-09T18:50:51Z")
Nearly 100%. There are very few shows I watch live, everything else is Tivo and Netflix. Heck, I’m content watching DVD’s from 2005. If it’s something I haven’t watched, it’s just as good as the new stuff. The exception is when we want to watch something in HD. It’s not worth upgrading our Tivo to HD so if we want to watch TV in HD we have to watch the original broadcast. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-time-shifted-tv-do-you-watch/553204/18 "2010-09-09T18:59:22Z")
> [@PSXer](#): > > I don’t watch any time shifted stuff. It is cheating. Part of watching TV is re-scheduling your life around the times your favorite shows on. Damn kids these days with their VCRs and DVRs are ruining the television experience You forgot to say, “Now get off my lawn!” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-time-shifted-tv-do-you-watch/553204/19 "2010-09-09T19:00:02Z")
The only things I watch live are the occasional big sporting event, big news stories and Doctor Who. ---
**Author:** ![borschevsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/97f17d/32.png) [@borschevsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/borschevsky)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-time-shifted-tv-do-you-watch/553204/20 "2010-09-09T19:04:47Z")
I probably time shift 95% of the stuff I watch. Most of the reality shows can be compressed down to maybe a third of their normal running time this way; I can’t stand watching them in real time now. To be fair, I can only barely stand to watch them time shifted :). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-time-shifted-tv-do-you-watch/553204.md?page=2)