Ratings: DVR numbers boost '90210,' 'Grey's' premieres

The fall TV season launched three weeks ago, and today we finally learned how all the shows that debuted during premiere week are doing, ratings-wise, when you factor in DVR playback. The show that garnered the largest DVR audience was — no surprise here — ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy, which added a hefty 4.3 million viewers to its initial tally of 16.8 million during its two-hour season premiere on Sept. 25. (If you’re wondering why CBS’s powerhouse CSI didn’t top the list, remember that it premiered two weeks later, on Oct. 9.) Those 4.3 million additional viewers represent a very important 26 percent increase for Grey’s.

Fox’s House and NBC’s Heroes added 3.8 and 3.2 million viewers via DVR, respectively, to round out the top three in the most-DVRed category. The struggling Heroes, which is averaging just 9.5 million viewers in same-day viewing, especially needed the boost. As for the most-DVRed comedy? Another no-brainer: CBS’s Two and a Half Men, which boosted its initial 13.9 million viewers by 15 percent, with an additional 2.1 million viewers from DVR. No other comedies even cracked the Top 10, in terms of total DVR viewership.

Another super-interesting aspect of these numbers is the shows that receive the greatest percentage increase in viewers after DVR numbers are included. The CW’s new 90210 (pictured) handily took top honors there, boosting its viewership by 43 percent (or 1.1 million pairs of eyeballs) over the meager 2.5 million that originally tuned in. How could this have happened? Fans may have been watching CBS’s NCIS, NBC’s The Biggest Loser, or Fox’s House live at the same time and just decided to tune in to 90210 later. While certainly good news for 90210, this does reveal that a large proportion of the show’s viewers don’t necessarily consider it important enough to watch in real time.

Interestingly, few of TV’s biggest shows — particularly CBS shows, which have all come out of the gate pretty strongly

this season — populate the top of this list. Series on The CW — such

as newbie Privileged (30 percent increase), Gossip Girl (28 percent increase), America’s Next Top Model (27 percent), and One Tree Hill (26 percent) — fill out the top 10, alongside NBC’s The Office (40 percent) and Heroes (37 percent), and Fox’s Fringe (36 percent), House (35 percent), and Prison Break

(27 percent). While topping this percentage-increase list is indeed notable, keep in mind

that most of these shows still draw a relatively small audience overall.

Interestingly, few of TV’s biggest shows — particularly CBS shows, which have all come out of the gate pretty stronglythis season — populate the top of this list. Series on The CW — suchas newbie Privileged (30 percent increase), Gossip Girl (28 percent increase), America’s Next Top Model (27 percent), and One Tree Hill (26 percent) — fill out the top 10, alongside NBC’s The Office (40 percent) and Heroes (37 percent), and Fox’s Fringe (36 percent), House (35 percent), and Prison Break(27 percent). While topping this percentage-increase list is indeed notable, keep in mindthat most of these shows still draw a relatively small audience overall.