New videos threaten TV drama

The growing popularity of personal video recorders that allow viewers to skip advertising breaks will damage the business model of commercial broadcasters and threaten investment in genres such as drama and comedy, according to research.

In homes with personal video recorders such as Sky Plus, 77% of ad breaks are skipped during the 42% of shows that are recorded.

The study, compiled by media buying agency PHD and due to be unveiled today at the Oxford Media Convention, predicts that by the end of the decade there will be an 8.7% decline in commercial "impacts" - the number of times any one advert is viewed.

The research showed that while viewers with PVR technology were likely to watch news, sport and soaps live, the majority of them would record comedy, classic movies and drama serials to watch later.

Because these genres are then likely to attract less advertising, and are more costly to produce in the first place, Ms Alps will argue that regulatory intervention will remain essential to keep broadcasters committed while advertisers will have to consider funding more programming.

Read the article: www.media.guardian.co.uk