Study Finds Americans Spend 1.3 Years Flipping Through TV Channels

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Don't know what to watch on TV? You're not alone. A new study finds that Americans spend an average of 1.3 years flipping through channels.

Ericsson ConsumerLab compiled data from 24 countries to come up with the findings, published in their TV and Media 2016 report.

Breaking it down, they determined the average TV watcher in the US spends about 23 minutes every day trying to find something to watch on television. But it looks like consumers spend even more time deciding what Netflix show to watch -- according to the study, US consumers spend 45 percent more time choosing what to watch on video on demand services than scheduled linear TV services.

It may come as a surprise to some that the average TV and video viewing time on fixed screens has dropped an average of 2.5 hours per week in the last four years. However, that's only because more people are now watching those programs on mobile devices, averaging four more hours per week.

Taking this trend into account, Ericsson researchers found that video consumption is indeed increasing -- however, what people are watching and how they watch it has changed.