Prime time just doesn't cut it for most Americans, anymore. Although the networks offer three hours per night (four hours on Sunday), it simply isn't enough television for most people.

Nielsen reported last week that we now watch more than four hours of television a day on average, while the average home has the TV in use for eight hours and 18 minutes a day - more than a one-hour increase from just a decade ago and the highest viewing numbers since Nielsen began tracking our couch-potato lifestyle.

So what's with the sudden infatuation with television? I have a few theories, even if the increased tube time doesn't extend to our household. My son tunes in to "American Idol." Period. (He makes up for it with computer time and watching his DVDs, neither of which count in this particular survey.) My wife and I average more than two hours a day, which includes Steelers football and the occasional opening monologue of Jay Leno. If we turn on the television Friday and Saturday night, it's to watch a rented or purchased movie. We're clearly below-average viewers, but it's not because we're TV snobs. There's just a paucity of worthwhile series at the moment. Our tuned-in time will up-tick in January with the return of "Lost" and "Idol," and I'm certain we'll sample some new series as well. But, to be honest, finding time to catch more than four hours of television a day would be stretching it. Like many working parents with kids, after homework and sports, television has become a post-9 p.m. luxury.

Nielsen will tell you these somewhat startling numbers don't lie, but methinks they may be slightly deceiving.

• If I'm reading the statistics correctly, it's a third-quarter poll (July - September). That ordinarily would be down time for television viewing, but 2008 had the Summer Olympics and a heated presidential contest. And Olympics junkies may well have had the television on for extended hours as coverage was offered nearly around the clock on various cable stations.

• This past summer, there was more new programming than at any time in television history.

• People are spending six hours per month watching time-shifted television - shows recorded on DVRs. Although DVRs have been around awhile, the device is a relatively new phenomenon, and one that Nielsen just recently started to track. In other words, when, a few years ago, some of us watched shows we recorded on our VHS recorders, that didn't count as TV-watching time. DVR use does (if it's watched within seven days).

• A decrease in the number of stand-alone episodes. If you commit to a series, even some sitcoms ("Worst Week" comes to mind), you now have to commit to watching every week to follow the storyline.

• And, sadly, the unemployment rate has been increasing over the past year, which means between job-hunting, people are watching game shows and soap operas during the day.

What's most interesting, of course, is that these statistics fly in the face of what "they" say. "They" have been saying for years that young people don't watch much TV, that people in general don't watch as much network television and that TV is losing ground to the Internet and video games. What is actually happening is that:

• Young people are watching television, but having not grown up with a three-network restriction, they lean toward cable offerings.

• Network viewing has been increasing the last few years. It is true that the networks took a ratings hit over the last two decades, but viewers are gravitating back. At the same time, viewers are adding cable programming to their TV habit, which helps account for increased television viewing overall.

• The Internet, iPods and mobile phones all are capable of airing television shows. Given the opportunity, though, viewers prefer a television screen. The other, smaller devices, however, help them maintain the "habit" away from home, particularly when it comes to maintaining interest in shows with continuing storylines. So, instead of stealing TV's thunder, the new devices are actually driving people back to the boob tube.

Give 'em five

Washington & Jefferson College's WNJR was a five-time winner in this year's AIR Awards, which recognizes achievement in radio. The alternative music station is a Pacifica Network affiliate. The winners:

• Best College Radio On-Air Personality: Eric Holmberg for "Hangin' with Holmes."

• Best College Radio Sports Reporting or Play-by-Play Announcer: Jon Pennline for 2008 W&J Football vs. Grove City College.

• Best College Radio Station Promo: Dave Singer for DaveFM show promo.

• Best College Radio Editorial for a Distracted Driving Campaign, a series of public service announcements designed to warn listeners about the dangers of distracted driving (especially cell phone use). Contributers to this campaign include Stephanie Smith, Justin Lemmo, Drew Guthrie, Peter Dehoff, Bayard Solomon, Brian Foye, Nate Terry, and Leigha Scheller.

• Best College Radio Station Web site for www.wnjr.org

Terry Hazlett covers TV and radio for the Observer-Reporter. He can be reached at snowballrizzo@aol.com.

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