Younger viewers spending less time in front of TV

Television viewer ratings among younger people have nearly halved over the past decade amid a rise of alternative Internet and mobile media, research showed Sunday.

According to AGB Nielsen Media Research, the viewer rating for the country's three main channels -- KBS, MBC and SBS -- stood at 4 percent among teenage boys in the first 10 months of this year, compared with 10.3 percent in 2002. The corresponding rate for teenage girls was 5.1 percent from 11.3 percent a decade ago.

The average viewer rating from households stood at 27.8 percent this year, down from 37.4 percent in 2002.

The latest drops in the viewer ratings, especially among younger people, came as they shifted to alternative media like the Internet and mobile tools, the firm said.

The viewer rating among men in their 20s reached 3.8 percent from 8.3 percent from a decade ago while the rate for the women in the same age group was 5.6 percent from 14.6 percent.

Men in their 30s had a viewer rating of 5.6 percent compared with 12.9 percent a decade ago, while their female counterparts recorded a rate of 9.7 percent, down from 14.6 percent a decade earlier. (Yonhap)