Study: Only a few TV channels are actually used

The more television channels that can be received, the less this potential is exploited. This is the conclusion of a German study published in the specialist journal "Media Perspektiven", reported the NZZ on Friday. The study examined the question of how much viewing time the program offerings contribute to the total television usage of individual viewers in Germany. The result is astonishing: the most popular channel already covers a third of total television usage; two channels cover a good 50 percent, and 10 channels 92 percent of television usage (study period 1st quarter 2006).

Less is more The concentration on a small number of channels is particularly high when looking at short periods of time - such as individual days. A look at the individual receivable channels shows that even with over 100 channels, 90 percent of television usage comes from 10 channels.
ARD, ZDF and RTL are the leading channels An analysis of the viewing habits of people with very high and very low television consumption shows that people with low television consumption concentrate on just a few channels. However, even among frequent viewers, the majority of television viewing consists of only 10 channels. Genre preferences play no role in the number of channels used, writes the NZZ. The leading channels with almost equal rankings are ARD, ZDF and RTL.