This probably doesn’t come as a surprise to anyone who uses a DVR, or anyone who regularly reads this blog, as I’ve posted on this before, but DVR viewing is having a growing impact on television ratings. USA Today highlighted this in an article Monday.

According to Nielsen Media research’s numbers, these are the five most time-shifted shows for the week of September 22-28.

Those are some pretty significant increases over the number of people who watched the episodes ‘live’. 28% of homes now have DVRs, up from 20% last fall. While new DVR users are reportedly not as fanatic about recording their programs, the sheer increase in numbers is having a growing impact on network programming. And the biggest impact is from viewers in their 30s, a prime audience. While the seven day numbers look good, networks still sell advertising based on lower three day ratings numbers. The industry needs to accept that DVRs are not only hear to stay, but rapidly consuming the market, and largely in the most valuable demographics, so advertising sales will need to adapt. It is really up to the networks to collectively take a stand and force change on the ad industry.

Well, it looks like the USA Today article I spotted last night was just the first to cover the official launch. Today Comcast and TiVo put out a press release announcing the official launch of the TiVo software on Comcast in the Boston area.

TV fans in the Greater Boston area now have a new choice for recording their favorite programs with the launch of the Comcast Digital Video Recorder (DVR) with TiVo® service. The new service combines TiVo’s award-winning interface and exclusive features, including WishList® searches, TiVo Suggestions and Season Pass™ recordings, with Comcast’s comprehensive channel lineup and massive On Demand library - which includes the most high-definition viewing choices on the market - in one box.

It certainly is garnering a lot of press: USA Today, The Boston Globe, AdWeek, and countless blogs.

Including Doug Aamoth of CrunchGear who has had it installed and have posted a ‘first look video‘.

The LA Times caught up with TiVo CEO Tom Rogers at CES for an interview. They’ve posted an MP3 audio file of part of the interview as well as an article which summarizes some of the specific points raised. They talked mainly of TiVo’s efforts to evolve with the market and their efforts to become a media access hub for the living room.

Today’s USA Today also has an article on TiVo. This one focuses on the Comcast roll-out of the TiVo OCAP/Tru2Way software. While it doesn’t really cover anything readers of this blog wouldn’t have already seen, it is nice to see the software getting some national press. It does state that Comcast will begin marketing the software on Tuesday. Since they have previously marketed it to their users, perhaps it means there will be a broader marketing push. It is good press for TiVo.