PVR vs. Live Sports...
I have owned a personal video recorder or PVR at home for a few years now. Originally I thought I'd check out this new technology and see what it was all about. A few months into having one I realized I was highly addicted and could not live without this box for the rest of existence. I found I was watching the same amount of TV, but because I could fast-forward through the ads I was spending less time on my couch. A 120 minute TV episode could be watched in 80 minutes or less. Usually I could watch a show in 33% less time.
TV advertisements quickly became a thing of the past for me.
The smart Media executives in this country realized a while ago that this technology would change the way people watch TV forever. We would all record our shows and watch when we wanted to, not when the networks wanted us to. This is now a reality for us PVR owners. We are now used to seeing more product placement within shows as a result.
Perhaps there was one exception? Some of these executives assumed that sports would be the one thing that people would want to watch live because that's when sports are most exciting. Therefore those media outlets that have access to live sports (whether they own the teams or own the rights to broadcast those games) would be able to charge the most for advertising. I watch quite a few sports throughout the year like hockey, baseball and some golf. I really thought these executives might be right. I like watching sports live, not recorded.
Now I'm not so sure.
Usually professional sports games last about 3 hours (baseball, hockey, football, basketball etc). I am now recording the games and watch them from the beginning about an hour into the show. That way I can watch the whole game but can still fast forward through all the ads and watch live for the last 20 minutes or so.
Even my favorite live sports have become victims of the great PVR. I've heard rumors that the future is "this recorded broadcast you are watching on your PVR is brought to you by..."
