London: A family that watches TV together, stays together.
Larger and flatter Television screens appeared to be bringing children back into the British living rooms, reversing a trend which saw them watching a separate set in their bedroom, a report by Ofcom, the country`s communications industry regulator said.
"One of the things that has helped drive strong TV viewing figures is the evolution of television technology," James Thickett, Ofcom`s director of research, was quoted as saying by the `Daily Mail`.
"In the past 10 years we have seen the development of widescreen television, HD television, screens getting flatter and very importantly screens are getting bigger," he said.
"What this is doing is actually bringing people back into the living room and television is taking on a new role as a family experience whereas 10 years ago, in the early 2000s, we were seeing kids, different members of the family watching different television shows in different rooms using different sets," he said.
In the first quarter of this year, more than 35 per cent of TV sets sold were at least 33 inches in size.
In 2011, individuals watched around 209 minutes of TV on their main set each day, compared to 187 minutes on a main set in 2002.
"Television viewing has been robust between 2002 and 2011. What`s interesting here is that with all these new technologies being adopted by 16 to 24-year-olds and to some extent children, we`re not seeing TV viewing among those age groups falling," Thickett added.
British viewers spent an average of four hours each day watching TV in 2011, up from 3.6 hours in 2002, the report said.
PTI
