What exactly are Americans watching on television these days? More than a quarter (27%) of American adults (age 18 and over) say they watch news more often than anything else, while 20% of teens (age
12-17) say their top choice is the sitcom.
In a recent study by Opinion Research Corporation, virtually the entire population (97% of adults and 96% of teenagers) admit watching some television
every week. The top watched television programs by adults were TV news (27%), sports (14%) and sitcoms (14%).
Teenagers, on the other hand, spend their hours in front of the tube watching sitcoms
(20%), movies (18%) and cartoons (18%). Comparatively, only 3% of teens say they spend their viewing time watching TV news, yet about the same number of teens and adults watch sports programs (13% vs.
14%). TYPE OF SHOW YOU TEND TO WATCH MOST ON TV:
Adults Teens
TV NEWS: 27% 3%
SITCOMS:
14% 20%
SPORTS: 14% 13%
MOVIES: 12% 18%
DRAMA: 12% 7%
CARTOONS: 4% 18%
REALITY
SHOWS: 4% 8%
SOAP OPERAS: 2% 2%
GAME SHOWS: 2% 2%
TALK SHOWS: 2% 3%
OTHER: 6% 5%
Interestingly, the study also revealed that while adults confessed to watching an average of 17 hours of television each week, one quarter of them (25%) watch more than 20 hours
and in some cases over 30 hours (12%) of TV each week.
This was surprisingly more than teenagers, who said they watch an average of only 11 hours of television each week, with just 13% watching
more than 20 hours in a typical week.