Television Co-Viewing in Latin America

La televisión llega a las casas de las gentes, llega a lo más íntimo de las gentes, yo a veces les digo a los señores arquitectos que deberían diseñar las casas empezando por donde va a estar la sala, por donde va a estar la televisión, porque es el punto de reunión de todas las familias, une a las familias, unifica a los criterios, trae una cosa importantísima que es el entretenimiento. (Emilio Azcárraga Milmo, transmitido por Televisa, 16 de abril, 1998)

Television viewing is an activity that takes place inside a home most of the time.  To the extent that there are other things going on and other people present, television viewing becomes a complex activity.  In a previous note, we dealt with the issue of using television as background activity.  In this note, we will deal with some of the social aspects of television viewing, namely co-viewing with other household members.  

The television set is a reception device which permits the viewing of one (and only one) signal at a time.  Of necessity, one has to make a choice of television channel to view.  Now, when there are two or more persons present, they will need to make a collective decision, which may not be satisfactory to everyone.

There are also different styles of using television.  On one hand, some people may prefer to have concentrate on the program content without any distraction.  So, for a program like Cristina, one would like to follow the talking closely in order not to lose the thread.  On the other hand, other people may the television viewing area as an electronic hearth around which family life unfolds, as people banter about the television program as well as other things.  So, for a program like Cristina, one would like to moralize, criticize, philosophize and what not in the company of others.

In the Los Medios y Mercados de Latinoamérica 1998 study, the following statement was presented to the survey respondents, "I like watching TV alone because I can watch the channel of my choice."  Overall, 49% of Latin Americans between the ages of 12 to 64 agreed mostly with this statement and 19% agreed somewhat.  This is a fairly high percentage of "agrees."

In Table 1 below, we show the breakdown of the answer by demographics.  Basically, there is not much difference among various demographic groups, with the exception that the very youngest respondents --- the teenagers --- show the highest preference for wanting to watch television by themselves.  The teenagers are the ones with different television tastes, yet they have the least authority to impose their preferences in a co-viewing situation.

Table 1. "Agree Mostly" with the statement
"I like watching TV alone because I can watch the channel of my choice"

                    (source: Los Medios y Mercados de Latinoamérica 1998)

The question of whether or not one would watch television with others must surely depend on the company involved.  In Table 2 below, we show the incidences by various types of household arrangement.  

Table 2. "Agree Mostly" with the statement
"I like watching TV alone because I can watch the channel of my choice"

                    (source: Los Medios y Mercados de Latinoamérica 1998)

Insofar as other household members are concerned, the "agree" rate clearly is a direct function of the closeness of the relationship, wherein one is much more willing to watch television with one's children compared to aunts and uncles.

WWW REFERENCES

• Television as Companion (12/31/98)   How often do people have the television set on while they do other things in the house?

(posted by Roland Soong on 1/5/00)

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