HAVE YOU HAD YOUR THREE HOURS AND EIGHT MINUTES TODAY?

Nielsen research figures released by the NZ Television Broadcasters' Council say that New Zealanders watched an average of three hours and eight minutes of television in 2008 - the highest level of TV viewership in this country since records began.

Many would have predicted that the arrival on the scene of new media, in particular the internet, would have hurt the traditional old media of television. But it seems the reverse has happened. As Television Broadcasters' Council Chief Executive Rick Friesen says - "it seems that content from these newer media outlets is helping grow interest in traditional television programming." I think another part of this same equation is that when viewers are deciding whether or not they will commit to a long-running series, the fact that they can now access missing episodes on the internet perhaps means they are more willing to make a commitment to the series.

The tightening economy may also have contributed to the rise in viewership. There is certainly a TV industry theory that television is something that does well in tough times because people are staying home with their cheap entertainment option. And with the technology we have these days - wide-screen, flat-screen, high definition, etc - perhaps the home viewing experience is getting closer to that of the cinema.

It was also a big year for television in New Zealand - we've got a lot of channels now and most of them did what they do reasonably well. Pay operator SKY TV had a particularly good year in 2008. It was also a year with a lot of special event television - the Olympics, the New Zealand General Election, the American Election, and big stunt-type local series like Dancing with the Stars and Who Wants to be a Millionaire.

Health experts and educationalists may not think NZers watching over three hours of tele a day each is a great thing, but it is certainly very good news for the television industry.