How much do you watch TV?

[Robert]

I watch 3 hours a week perhaps.

[Retro Hound]

I said none, but I wasn't counting Netflix. A couple hours a week with that. But network tv, none, we don't have cable or satellite.

[bcdon]

I said none but I do watch some old tv shows I downloaded off of bittorrent on my computer (original Doctor Who, Bionic Man, &c) while I play guitar.

[sunvalleylaw]

depends. Not much lately, 1-3 hrs. But if the Olympics is on or I have access to the tour de france or something like that, I watch a bit more.

[otaypanky]

I plead the 5th.
Now could you please pass the remote?
But I'm working while it's on in the background. And I usually have the live coverage of the U.S. government, Senate hearings, stuff like that. Or else something like MSNBC, CNN, local news. I don't watch the mindless crap unless my 90 year old mom has it tuned in upstairs in our living room. She digs the dancing and talent shows ~ I'm just glad she has something to entertain herself with. She reads a lot too ~

[Tig]

I said none but I do watch some old tv shows I downloaded off of bittorrent on my computer (original Doctor Who, Bionic Man, &c) while I play guitar.

If you haven't seen the recent Doctor Who played by David Tennant, be sure to give them a try. He's a hoot, and my favorite of all the many, many Doctors.

http://primetime.unrealitytv.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/david-tennant-doctor-who.jpg
http://www.matthewsland.com/doctorwho/doctors10.jpg

[deeaa]

LOL I watch way too much TV. Except in the summer, when I only watch it like maybe an hour or two a day if even that.

Usually I leave for work around eight, but sometimes later, and then I might watch some Frasier or maybe Law & Order in the morning while waking up. I come from work anywhere between twelve and four usually, and the kids mostly watch TV for a while around that time, or maybe we play with the Xbox some. But then I'll watch TV with the wife after around eight which is when the kids go to sleep...most times around eight there's some reality show which she watches, and I vanish to make music on my DAW for an hour, or play PC games online, or tinker with something till nine or so, when I get too tired to do much else, and join her watching some show like, I dunno, any quality show like Galactica, Sopranos, Sons of Anarchy, Lost, you name it, and usually there's another around ten following which I also see, while the wife hits the sack already. Sometimes I might start playing the Xbox around that time too, or even watch a movie, but anyway after 11:30 or so I try to hit the sack too with the help of 2-3 beers. That 22-24 is usually 'my own time' which is when I can noodle on the guitar, drink beer and smoke and watch movies or tinker with stuff alone.

It doesn't really change from that routine, which makes it anything from 3-5 hours of TV daily for me, although I usually do plenty of other stuff WHILE watching the thing. Minding kids, making music, listening to music, tinkering, cooking food, playing board games, post stuff to TheFret etc, pop into the DAW to make renders, edit home vids etc...but I do keep an eye on TV as well all the time.

If I have band practice etc. I arrange it to take place from four to six approximately, so they don't really affect the routine either.

Hangover days with kids out of the house I might easily watch the telly for like 14 hours in a single day, just enjoying the hangover, eating pizza and watching dozens of shows off the network recorder. I keep like a 2-3 hundred TV shows there at all times so I can watch whatever I like whenever I like. I must have like 40 episodes of Law & Order alone unwatched at the moment...Law&Order, Law&Order Special Unit, Law&Order London....

[R_of_G]

"Let's just plop them in front of the TV. I was raised in front of the TV and I turned out TV." - Homer Simpson

In all seriousness, I was raised with a television in my own room since I was about seven or eight and parents who watch plenty of television. I turned out to be an intelligent, creative person with a finely honed sense of humor.

The majority of what I watch now is sports programming, but there are a handful of current shows I watch, many of which I get via NetFlix because I don't get HBO or Showtime.

And add in one hour per day for Stewart & Colbert when they aren't on vacation.

I will always prefer books and music, but I love television when it's done correctly.

[deeaa]

There's a LOT TV can teach you. I probably have learned ten times more about nature and animals from telly than any schooling for instance. I love to watch a quality documentary any day - lots and lots of great information.

[Tone2TheBone]

We don't have satelllite or cable so we mostly use the TV for watching DVDs and playing video games. We might catch some PBS action here and there though. It's the only station worth watching at all.

[Rockermann]

We watch more than 13 hours a week. We use the DVR religiously. NEVER watch anything live, just pre-recorded shows. That way we can squeeze in even more TV in the same amount of time (after fast forwarding through commercials).

We probably have about 40-50 'season passes' (different TV shows) setup throughout the year. Plus, we have all the movie channels, NFL Sunday Ticket, MLB Extra Innings and top it off with a basic Netflix membership.

Needless to say, we don't go out much. :) Most of our entertainment dollars go towards the TV stuff. We have a projection 'home theater (http://steve-mann.com/theater.html)' with a 129" screen, so that keeps us happy too. :)

[R_of_G]

I feel I should add that the amount of TV that I watch in no way reflects the amount of TV my child watches. During the week she watches no more than an hour of TV per day, and that hour is Sesame Street which is of such high educational and socializing value that I might contend it's wrong not to show children. On the weekend she may see more TV if I am watching sports, but that is typically with the volume off and music playing, or at the very least, the volume off during commercials. Seeing sports on TV will hopefully help her develop an interest in being active herself, and will certainly help her be conversant with her extended family. The only other things she's seen on TV are a handful of live music DVDs, Yellow Submarine, and some Disney movies.

[deeaa]

BTW while I was in the U.S. I found it strange that free TV channels were basically totally c**p. Seemed like only re-runs of old shows, soaps and LOTS of commercials.

I thought we had it bad here with just five or so main free channels, but it's a really good setup after all. One channel broadcasts almost only news and BBC etc. nature documentaries and classic films, while most of the rest air an actually really good compilation of U.S., british and german etc. TV series plus each a few nice a few year old hit films too. They air basically all HBO etc. series too, although sometimes a week later than U.S. and sometimes a month or even a year later. But still, there's hardly much commercials and lots and lots of free shows.

Basically all you must pay for if you want is some premium sports, disney & discovery channel and film channels that air newer, just-on-dvd films.

So far only a couple of the main channels air the stuff in full 1080 HDTV, though, which I await eagerly to happen with all channels.

[Rockermann]

...So far only a couple of the main channels air the stuff in full 1080 HDTV, though, which I await eagerly to happen with all channels.

That's one thing I'm thankful of... I don't watch anything that's not in HD. Most of our channels are in HD and I just don't watch the few that are not.

[bcdon]

If you haven't seen the recent Doctor Who played by David Tennant, be sure to give them a try. He's a hoot, and my favorite of all the many, many Doctors.

Your favorite even over Tom Baker?? Wow, I'll check him out sometime, thanks!

[omegadot]

The season 5 Dr is quite good as well. He's not as expressive as Tennant but the writing and dialog is great. Dr. Who is truly one of my weak points for TV. Unfortunately new seasons aren't easy to get this side of the pond.

I honestly got between 0 and a lot for a few days when I am watching a season.

[sumitomo]

I'm gunna include this internet time also,because to me it's the same,so about 3 hrs a day,with most of the TV being PBS nature stuff.Sumi:D

[duhvoodooman]

7 - 9 hrs. is pretty typical for me. Mostly Yankees games on YES, occasionally science & forensics shows (REAL forensics, not CSI!), favorite movies and other sports stuff.

[Spudman]

Right now I am watching ZERO hours of TV - unless I can find Tour de France coverage. I'd rather be outside living than sitting in front of a box with a bag of Cheetos and a Heineken...not that there's anything wrong with that. :wave:

The only other time I watch a TV set is to put in a DVD. We do that as a family maybe 2 times per week and that is all I watch. The girls watch in addition to the 2 movies: American Idol and Dancing with the Stars. So not much TV at our house. Reading takes priority.

[Eric]

I'm gunna include this internet time also,because to me it's the same,so about 3 hrs a day,with most of the TV being PBS nature stuff.Sumi:D
That's a good way to look at it, and I agree. Considering that, it's probably about 2-3 hours a day outside of work. Ugh -- that seems like a lot.

I saw this article on a friend's refrigerator last year:
http://www.theonion.com/articles/report-90-of-waking-hours-spent-staring-at-glowing,2747/

[progrmr]

I'm definitely over 13 hours a week. I have to stop that - sure it's entertaining but when you add up all that time, how much better of a player could I be if I spent even half of that time practicing??!!

[deeaa]

That's a good way to look at it, and I agree. Considering that, it's probably about 2-3 hours a day outside of work. Ugh -- that seems like a lot.

It's really not much, 2-3 hours...usually, after 9 in the evening, I really just don't have any energy left to do anything else besides TV. Even reading demands much too much brain effort after a typical day, ears buzz and eyes flicker so much TV is all I can muster to stare at, lying motionless on the sofa. That leaves a good 2-3 hours of boob tube at least.

6-8 morning stuff, feeding kids & transport, 8-3 at work, 4-7 either family time or something like band practice, renovations, yard work etc, 7-9 putting kids to bed, sauna etc. and after nine...all power drained out...I live for those days I don't have any lectures or only a couple and can come home in the middle of day to do my own thing in peace & quiet, or go to town to see how much it's changed in the months I've been busy at home :-)

Come to think of it, when I was under 30 I could not understand how could anybody live more than a few miles max from the city centre...these days, I visit the city so rarely they've usually changed some street directions while I've been away and built new buildings...I could easily live most anywhere in the deepest woods if the workplace was there :-)