DELINEATING GRAZING - OBSERVATIONS OF REMOTE-CONTROL USE

Contrary to many previous reports of widespread grazing, most viewers in this study made very limited use of remote control devices (barely one or two RCD operations per half-hour). Comparisons of the separate operations of punching, arrowing, scanning, jumping, inserting, and muting showed that, overall, the most common RCD activity was punching in a specific channel number, a direct substitute for dial turning. Moreover most activity took place on the hour and half-hour rather than within programs, meaning that commercial avoidance was infrequent and suggesting that industry concerns about radical changes in viewing behavior resulting from remote control use may be overblown.