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Those Netflix binges are bad news for DVRs

Mike Snider
USA TODAY

Streaming services have become a bigger staple in homes than the digital video recorder — and of all the Internet TV services, Netflix reigns supreme.

Streaming video on demand (SVOD) services were in as many homes as DVRs (50%), according to Nielsen findings released mid-year 2016. But the latest research from the firm finds streaming has overtaken DVR use.

In the first quarter of 2017, 57% of homes subscribed to an SVOD service, while DVR ownership rose to 54%.  “The crossing of those two lines is an inflection point,” said Sara Erichson, Nielsen's executive vice president for client solutions and audience insights, on Tuesday.

Netflix remains kingpin of streaming with 51.2% of homes on board, Nielsen finds, followed by Amazon Video (28.6% of homes) and Hulu (12.7%).

When it comes to usage, Netflix accounted for 46% of time spent streaming, followed by YouTube (15%), Amazon (8%) and Hulu (4%).

Other Nielsen data also demonstrated how some improved reporting methods helped show increased viewership for TV programming. Capturing viewership outside the home — bars, restaurants, hotels and gyms, for example — helped boost ESPN and other sports networks viewership by 9%. And that out-of-home audience is more likely to be younger and female than home viewers, Nielsen said. Cable news also gained 6% with out-of-home viewers included.

Viewers have grown accustomed to watching favorite shows after the broadcasts, too. Nielsen recently began tracking viewership of shows to 35 days beyond the original live broadcast on DVRs and on demand. CBS found that its primetime series grew an average of 54% with the Live+35 days measurement. The Big Bang Theory's audience grew 67%, for example.

Most viewers don't wait a long time to watch their favorites. Still, “more than half of incremental viewing is in Week 2” after broadcast, Erichson said.

Contributing: TV Editor Gary Levin in New York.

Follow USA TODAY reporter Mike Snider on Twitter: @MikeSnider.

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