North America is the top region in the world when it comes to watching television, according to a new report from Eurodata TV Worldwide.
The research data found that people across the world watched television for about three hours a day on average in 2017. But the United States and Canada led the way with four hours and three minutes per day, with European viewers following closely behind at three hours and 49 minutes per day.
Asia residents watched less TV than anywhere else, averaging two hours and 25 minutes, according to the data, with China, specifically, averaging two hours and 12 minutes, AFP reported.
The global average for individuals sat at two hours and 56 minutes.
"The length of time people watch television is holding up despite the growing availability of online content," said Eurodata TV Worldwide's vice president Frederic Vaulpre. "There was a slight fall in TV viewing in North America and Asia, but it is still growing in South America and in Europe it is maintaining historically high levels.”
Eurodata's study observed the television viewing habits of 95 countries in its “One TV Year in the World” report, according to Variety.
The report also observed “time-shifted” and “internet screen viewing” habits of TV watchers around the world, which means television recorded through DVR and TiVo or watched through the internet. The data showed that young adults adopted these types of viewings more than any other age group.
The report also identified the habits of individual genres: Dating shows and crime series still performed well across the world, while family shows shifted emphasis to be about “topical problems, such as the father’s place in the family, with a greater focus on emotion than on action,” according to Broadband TV News.
The report’s results were presented at MIPTV, which is the world's biggest TV market conference held in Cannes, France.
Paul Youngbluth of the TAPE consultancy told MIPTV delegates that there has been a lot of “fake news” about the death of TV, according to The National, adding that “consumption is not decreasing.”
"New U.S. shows like ‘The Good Doctor’ and ‘Roseanne’ show that linear (traditional) TV can still draw very high live audiences," he said.
