Turkish viewers' daily dose of TV drops to 3.3 hours

Turks spend an average of 3 hours and 34 minutes in front of their TVs every day, a decline as more and more viewers go online to watch their favorite shows, a survey conducted by Turkey's TV watchdog has revealed. The Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) survey results were announced yesterday in Ankara. It involved 2,600 people in 26 cities and delved into their viewing habits as well as trust in media.

Compared to a 2006 survey where the average TV viewing time was more than 5 hours, the results show a steady decline in TV watching in the traditional sense. Average viewing time was 4 hours and 24 minutes in the last survey conducted in 2009.

Factors in the decreasing viewing time vary but the survey shows more than half of people interviewed think TV programming has not changed much in the past five years. TV viewers on social media often complain that programming, especially TV series, lack original content. The series - mostly inspired by telenovelas - ironically found popularity in other countries in recent years but most are little more than prime-time soap operas notable for their excruciating length, according to social media users. Viewers complained mostly about daytime shows and TV series, the survey showed that while news and locally-produced TV series are still most popular among audiences.

On trusting the media, 69.2 percent of viewers said they trusted TV as a reliable news source. It was followed by the print media, while social media was the least reliable news source for most interviewees.

Meanwhile, watching TV on smartphones is becoming more popular among people between the ages of 15 and 24, according the survey.