How much do you charge for an hour?
If you surveyed 100 random people and asked them, “Besides money, what would you like to have more of”? I would be willing to bet that at least 90 of them would list, in some shape or form, time. More time to spend with the family, more time to exercise, more time to get a project done at work, more time to play golf, more time to read, more time to relax! You get the point.
The problem here is that there are only 24 hours in a day. No matter what you do, that’s not going to change. However, how you use those 24 hours is manageable. This is where the invention of the DVR/TiVo comes into play. I have gotten the controls down to a “science”, where I can fast forward through commercials in a few seconds instead of taking minutes to watch. With my DVR, I can watch a 60 minute TV show in about 35 minutes. This saves me 25 minutes per show I watch and it only costs me $10 per month.
Using some statistical data from the Bureau of Labor, I put together an example below to illustrate how much time can be saved. Even though the statistics are from 2005, I still think the point doesn’t change. Click on the thumbnail to see the example.
Basically, the BLS states that, on average, individuals spent 2.6 hours per day watching TV in 2005. That average equates to roughly 18 hours per week and 73 hours per month. If bypassing commercials saves 42% of the time it takes to watch a show, you can save just over 30 hours a month. Save 30 hours a month for just $10! That’s money WELL spent! Another benefit of using a recorder is that I get to watch shows when it’s convenient for me.
The VCR could tape shows too, but never had the intelligence to know when a show was new or a repeat, be able to adjust the time if a show went 45 minutes instead of the usual 30, etc. Who wouldn’t spend $10 for 30 extra hours? Now I’m off to use some of those 30 hours to work on my handicap…
Source:
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/atus.nr0.htm
Click here to send us an e-mail to subscribe to DSA Insights and get updates by e-mail.
Most Commented Posts
March 20th, 2007 at 3:10 am
But, Tony…when would I find time to go to the restroom?
March 20th, 2007 at 5:58 pm
That’s the beauty of TiVo! It gives you the option of skipping restroom breaks with the push of a button.