Study: Americans, Japanese watch the most TV

Americans and Japanese watch more television than residents of any other country in the world, a new study from Motorola has found.

According to Motorola's Mobility's Global 2010 Media Engagement Barometer study, American and Japanese viewers spend 21 hours per week watching television and video content. South Koreans watch the least TV--just 13 hours a week. The average amount of time spent watching TV each week around the world is 17 hours. Motorola said most television viewers watch scheduled programming, but 34 percent watch scheduled content in addition to online video and on-demand shows.

The study, which looked at responses from 7,500 consumers in 13 international markets, also found that consumers prefer "subscription-only" TV services from providers, rather than free over-the-air content. However, subscription services are available to only 57 percent of worldwide television viewers, while 67 percent of people around the globe can access over-the-air content.

Much of that viewing has been or will soon be done on HDTVs, Motorola also found. Some 75 percent of people around the globe either own an HDTV or plan to buy one "in the next 18 months." The company said 25 percent of global television viewers plan to get their hands on a 3D TV at some point in the next year and a half.

Although global viewers prefer paid services on their televisions, more than 66 percent of respondents said that it's "quite or very important" to have free access to content on devices other than the television. Just 39 percent of folks said that they would want to pay for access to video content available on products other than a TV.

One more interesting tidbit from Motorola's study: 20 percent of respondents said they would like to see a recommendation engine made available on their televisions that "tracked viewing habits and suggested content based on viewer preference."