Personal Video Recorders

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Personal Video Recorders (PVRs) Managerial Economics and Business Theory Personal Video Recorders (PVRs) As noted in Gudmundsen, 2002, Personal Video Recorders, also known as PVRs, are digital video recorders used to record and replay television programs that basically replaced the VCRs of old. For some, a PVR is the same as a DVR which is a Digital Video Recorder. One of the first known PVRs was the TiVo which quickly gained popularity for people who worked, entertained, or were simply unavailable during some of their favorite shows. Once provided a means not to miss a big show, game, long winded awards show, etc, more and more people opted to participate in the newest technology of owning or leasing PVRs. PVRs enabled many television viewers to avoid watching commercials. This ability had a few affects including the fact that viewers began sitting in one place longer, as many people often used commercial time to get up and do things like run to the kitchen or bathroom. It also had a large affect on advertisers whose commercials were costing millions, yet being avoided with a simple click on the fast forward button. PVRs have a definite affect on the demand from advertisers. Although prior to PVRs some would use commercial time to get up and do something quick, those individuals would still catch part or all of a commercial if not still hear it prior to sitting back in front of the television. More individuals did not use the time to do anything at all, but instead sat still as the commercial played. PVRs and their increased use by consumers to avoid watching advertisements from broadcast television shows will lower the demand from advertisers. The value of a television advertisement depends on the number of viewers of that advertisement, not of the shows viewership. If there are 20 million viewers of a show, but all of them
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