According to a study done by Nielsen, the average home in the United State gets 119 channels from their cable provider. The study seems to hint that this is a major factor contributing to the decrease in overall ratings for broadcast television. As a result of this, the networks face a greater amount of competition.Other interesting finds from the study include:
- In 2007, the average household increased the number of channels it watched (up to 16 channels an average of 10 minutes per week each).
- Scripted television still is the majority of the English-language product (40% of primetime programming) despite all talk of a reality television boom. Variety programs comprise 23%.
- The average U.S. TV home has 2.5 people and 2.8 TV sets.
- 61% of homes have wired cable hookups, down from a high of 68% in 2000, and 27% have satellite or specialized antenna systems to receive signals, up from 19% in 2005.
In short, if you can't find anything to watch tonight it's from a lack of quality and not a lack of quantity.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-09-2008 @ 3:13PM
Dave said...
I get less than 30 channels and I watch fewer than 10 of them.
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6-09-2008 @ 3:44PM
Carissa said...
Curious - if 40% is scripted, and 23.3% is variety, what is the rest? And, does 40% scripted include shows such as the Hills or whatever, which we know is truly scripted after all?
Yep - cable broadcasts have become my shows of choice. The programs are just better. Better quality, better scheduling (sometimes on multiple times per week), better at taking chances.
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6-09-2008 @ 8:45PM
Dwacon said...
With all those channels, still nothing to watch! But the concept of networks and channels will go away... the internet will be a bot-rich cauldron of entertainment for us to choose from... all decided based on our preferences stored in Google. LOL!
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6-09-2008 @ 11:22PM
Lenny said...
I've got just under 70 channels (basic cable) and only watch about 8-10 of those and only about half that number get my regular viewing. Even at that, there ain't crap on so why the hell would I want even more channels?
I agree with the two comments above; one about cable being a better offering and the other about the internet being the future of entertainment. I never, ever, not even once sit down and watch something when it airs. Never. It's all when I want to see it. I have a life that's not scheduled around something as frivolous as entertainment.
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