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Coke Classic appeared 1,931 times on U.S. television shows in the first quarter, almost as many times as it did in all of last year.

Coke popped up on the "American Idol" talent show, the most-watched program last season, as judge Simon Cowell drank the soda while badgering contestants. Industrywide, product placements rose 27 percent, six times the growth rate of network-TV ad sales, Nielsen Monitor-Plus said in a report released this week.

The surge in these placements underscores the shift away from traditional 30-second commercials as consumers rely on devices such as digital video recorders that save programs for later replay and let viewers skip ads. The machines might be in 10 percent of U.S. homes by year's end, according to Forrester Research in Cambridge, Mass.

Advertisers "are bracing themselves for that eventuality when consumers will have a greater say over whether or not they see their commercials," said Brad Adgate, research director at advertising-consulting firm Horizon Media Inc.

Eight of the 10 TV programs with the most product-placement ads were unscripted reality shows. NBC's "The Contender" had the most, followed by Fox's "American Idol" and UPN's "The Road to Stardom With Missy Elliott."

"Reality shows are tailor-made for it because they can mention the product and appear more naturally than an entertainment show," Horizon's Adgate said.

In the boxing show "The Contender," Jesse Brinkley knocked out his opponent in its 13th episode using gloves emblazoned with the Everlast clothing brand. Afterward, the fighter rested next to a pole decorated with a Foot Locker logo while his trainer handed him a Gatorade bottle.

" 'The Contender' offered us a terrific opportunity because it was authentic athletes and an authentic occasion," Gatorade spokeswoman Heather Mitchell said.

The scripted shows among the top 10 in product placement were CBS' "King of Queens," with 747 occurrences, and "What I Like About You" on the WB network, with 783 placements.