In eight out of ten Swiss households, there are disputes about the TV program

Opinions are divided on the subject of sport, and football in particular. How does the conflict end? Men talk much more often about agreement - women about one of the two prevailing.

One TV, one remote control, two different ideas of good entertainment: in eight out of ten (83%) Swiss multi-person households, arguments break out at least once in a while, according to a representative "TV at home" study*. The market research institute Forsa conducted the survey on behalf of Europe's largest Internet TV provider Zattoo. In one in four households (24%) there are often or almost always disputes about the remote control. The risk of disputes increases with the size of the household: if four or more people live together under one roof, disputes about the TV program frequently escalate for around 34%. 

In families with children, Swiss people's ideas about their favorite leisure activities differ more than in childless households. And the younger age group of 14 to 29 years is particularly far removed from cuddling, whereas older couples argue significantly less often. "Television habits seem to converge in long-term relationships or people have found a way to agree," explains Jörg Meyer, Chief Officer Content & Consumer at Zattoo.

Opinions differ on sport

Disputes are most frequently sparked by the topic of "sport" (31%), followed by reality TV formats (24%). When it comes to sport, "King Football" (73% of cases) is the main source of conflict. Formula 1 (36%), tennis (22%) and ice hockey (21%) also harbor potential for conflict. In contrast, there are almost no disagreements about magazine and children's programs.

Man speaks of agreement, woman sees it differently

Zattoo also looked into the question of how discussions about the program are resolved. Four out of ten respondents agreed, but 16% stated that there is always one person who wins the battle for the remote control and thus determines what is watched. However, it is precisely on this point that perceptions differ between the sexes. Men (42%) are more likely than women (35%) to be convinced that a consensus has been reached, whereas women more often think that one of the two prevails. "A result that suggests that men are more assertive and watch their football," continues Jörg Meyer.

The TV dispute can be avoided: Many of those surveyed stated that they record programs, watch them later in the media library or watch their favourite program on another device straight away. The Internet also offers a peaceful alternative so that no one has to watch TV.

*The large "TV at home" study by Zattoo: Representative of Internet users aged 14 and over in multi-person households. The survey was conducted by the market research institute Forsa between February 13 and 24, 2015. 1,041 people were surveyed.

 
Selected figures at a glance

- 83% of Swiss multi-person households argue at least occasionally about the television program
- 24% even have frequent frictions about the program
- 31% of the disputes arise because one of the parties wants to watch sport
- 39% of respondents stated that the dispute ended with the agreement on a program