Turks spend more than 4 hours watching TV last year

ISTANBUL

Turks spent four hours and 33 minutes on average watching TV last year, which is well above the world’s average of two hours and 54 minutes, according to a recent study conducted by the Television Watching Research Company (TİAK).

The corresponding figure for Europe was three hours and 54 minutes. 

According to the study, people watched TV mostly on Wednesdays during weekdays, while they spent more time in front of their TV sets on Sundays during weekends.

They watched TV mostly between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. 

“People spent more time in front of the TV because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of hours people watched TV increased up to six hours in April when the virus-related restrictions were introduced,” said Ümit Önal, the board chairman of TİAK.

In 2019, the number of hours spent watching TV was 19 minutes less compared to last year. 

Last year, the most-watched programs were TV series at 29 percent and kids’ programs at 21.1 percent.  
The study also noted 25 Turkish TV dramas, aired in 11 countries, were among the top 10 most-watched programs in 2020. 

According to the study, in 77 percent of the countries in the world, people watched more TV than the previous year, with Romania topping the list with five hours and 44 minutes and Iceland at the bottom with one hour and 16 minutes. 

Önal said the pandemic was the reason behind the increase in the time Turks spent in front of their televisions.
“Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the average time of watching TV has increased by 19 minutes to four hours and 33 minutes,” Ünal said.

April 2020 was the month during which the time spent watching TV reached the peak with six hours a day, he added.

“The rise of the daily COVID-19 cases, lockdowns and curfews surely had an impact on watching TV,” Önal stressed. 

Turks spent some six hours and 48 minutes in front of the TV on Sunday, March 29, 2020, breaking the highest daily record. August 2020 was the month Turks spent the least time watching TV, according to the survey.  
Önal also highlighted the success of the TV series, saying, “Turkey has been the second biggest TV series exporter after the United States.”

Another official at the press conference glorifying the success of the TV series was Ebubekr Şahin, the head of the Supreme Board of Radio and Television (RTÜK).

“Not only locally, but these series also display our culture abroad. I am the RTÜK chief who believes in the power of series. These TV series are our envoys telling about us,” Şahin said.

The survey was conducted with some 10,000 people in some 40 out of all 81 provinces.