DVRs Save Thursday Nights

According to this story from the Hollywood Reporter, ABC had success with Thursday nights for the first time since the Barney Miller days (well over 20 years) by switching Grey's Anatomy to Thursday nights. Because I'm long winded and have not yet refined my writing skills yet let me tell you the most important thing right now: CBS says that HALF of its viewership for the CSI that runs Thurdays vs. Grey's Anantomy is people watching on DVRs. HALF. HALF. That seems...shocking and outrageous...but cool as hell if it's true.

While I did sort of taste the Grey's kool-aide, I did so primarily because it became socially impossible to have a decent conversation with any woman over the age of 33 because there were simply too many Grey's references that I wasn't aware of.

To me, this show has roughly about the same appeal as an Internet chat room or Craig's List. Right in front of you, characters who are way more screwed up and depressing than anything you have going on in your own life. But Grey's notches this up because unlike most flakes in an Internet chat room the people actually have good jobs and are beautiful and ARE STILL MISERABLE AS HELL. This is a show about a bunch of people who have great lives but are chronically miserable as hell.

Anyway, the interesting thing about this story to me was the quote from CBS Research Chief, David Poltrack. Because although CSI on CBS did feel the pain of Grey's moving to Thursdays, it wasn't problematic according to Poltrack.

"In a non-DVR world, this would have been a tough situation for the viewer and for CBS in particular because 'Grey's' comes in there and people have to make a decision whether they're going to watch 'CSI' or 'Grey's,"' Poltrack said. "But with DVRs, people were able to watch both." Half the "CSI" viewership comes in playback mode, according to the CBS data.