NBC Spends Money, Explains the Obvious

NBC tells us that people who watch shows online are more likely to recall ads and more likely to watch the whole show through. I can't say this is terribly surprising on either count.

As far as the ads are concerned, when you watch an episode online, there are about three ads, maybe four if you count a pre-program sponsorship. Of course, people are going to recall those four ads better than the 13-15 that normally run during a show on TV. Plus, you can't switch channels online and since the NBC player can sometimes be shaky, I hardly even want to breathe on the computer when I'm watching The Office.

This lack of channel-surfing also means that you're more likely to stay with a show all the way through. Plus, you decided to stream that show (in theory) because you want to watch it. Viewing online has a far bigger pull side than TV, where there are so many options and occasionally you just want to be mindlessly entertained for an hour. How else to explain Are Your Smarter than a 5th Grader?