NBC is finding that its hit TV shows, streamed online, are attracting not only viewers who missed broadcast episodes but also new viewers, MediaWeek reports.

NBC's Rewind video player allows viewers to watch the network's popular daytime and primetime shows online. NBC claims that 26 percent of viewers watched episodes that they had already seen offline, and 34 percent of users watched shows they had not seen before.

But the service seems to be paying dividends for advertisers as well. NBC says viewers are using the service as an online DVR - except that users can't fast-forward through the ads. Reportedly, 81 percent of users were able to recall specific pre-roll ads that were viewed at least twice.

Rewind has delivered over 42 million full-episode streams since debuting, to 6.9 million unique viewers. In December, the average streamer spent 35 minutes watching video onNBC.com. "Contrary to conventional wisdom, consumers are ready to watch long-form entertainment on the web and we plan on making more available," said Jeff Gaspin, president of NBC Universal Cable Entertainment, Digital Content and Cross Network Strategy.