The Top States that Watch the Most & Least TV

Dec 8 | By Brandon Jarman

For the second year in a row, VerizonSpecials.com conducted a study to determine which states watch the most TV. With streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu churning out hits, including The Witcher and Little Fires Everywhere respectively, there’s plenty of entertainment to go around. 

So, where does your state fall on this year’s list? Set aside the TV guide and keep reading to find out.

Interesting Findings:

  • Our data shows that US citizens overall watched 17 percent more TV than they did compared to last year’s report.
  • Mississippi watched the most TV this year.
  • Mississippi jumped viewership by 25 percent compared to last year’s report and dethroned last year’s winner West Virginia. 
  • Telenovelas, a popular type of serial drama or soap opera produced in Latin America, was the most popular TV genre for Florida, Texas, and California. 
  • For all fifty states including Washington, DC, sports was the most-searched TV genre.
  • In our 2019 study, Utah watched the least TV, averaging two hours, thirteen minutes, and fifty-five seconds. 
  • In this year’s study, Alaska watched the least TV, at two hours, thirty-eight minutes and twenty-four seconds—which is quite a leap from fifth place compared to last year’s report. 
  • Rhode Island saw a 45 percent increase in TV watching this year, making a jump from fifteenth place to sixth place.

Top Ten States: Most-Watched TV

This year’s data showed a few notable shifts compared to last year’s report. First, we found that US citizens watched 17 percent more TV than they did last year. The top three states that watched the most TV also changed this year. 

Last year West Virginia came in at number one, followed by Delaware and Louisiana. This year, Mississippi took the lead and only West Virginia remained in the top three. We also found that Sports took the top spot for the most popular TV genre, booting out last year’s top pick of Sitcom. 

StateAverage Hr:Min:SecFavorite TV GenreRank
Mississippi4:22:48Sports1
Arkansas4:20:24Sitcom2
West Virginia 4:18:36Sports3
Alabama4:16:12Sports4
Louisiana4:07:12Sports 5
Rhode Island4:02:24Reality TV6
Kentucky 3:52:48Sports7
Nevada3:51:00Sports8
Georgia3:49:48Stand-up comedy9
Michigan3:46:12Sitcom10

Top Ten States: Least-Watched TV

This year’s data also showed a few notable shifts on our least-watched list. While Utah watched the least TV in the US last year, Alaska took the cake for watching the least TV this year. This year, Utah and Idaho were not far behind—both bringing a love of children’s shows with them. 

Compared to last year’s report, only Utah stayed in a top-three spot while Vermont and Maine fell behind. Another notable shift is that while Alaska watched the least TV this year, its residents still watched twenty-five more minutes of TV than Utah did in the same spot in our previous report.

StateAverage Hr:Min:SecFavorite TV GenreRank
Alaska2:38:24Reality TV1
Utah2:54:36Children’s TV series2
Idaho3:05:24Children’s TV series3
Minnesota3:06:00Sports4
Washington 3:09:36Stand-up comedy5
New Mexico3:12:00Cartoons6
California3:13:12Telenovela7
Montana3:15:00News8
Oregon 3:15:00Cooking shows9
Colorado3:16:48Reality TV 10

TV Viewership in All Fifty States + Washington DC

StateAverage Hr:Min:Sec
Watched in a Day
Most-Searched TV GenreRank
Alaska2:38:24Reality television1
Utah2:54:36Children’s television series2
Idaho3:05:24Children’s Television Series3
Minnesota3:06:00ESPN4
Washington3:09:36Stand-up Comedy5
New Mexico3:12:00Cartoons6
California3:13:12Telenovela7
Oregon3:15:00Cooking Shows8
Montana3:15:00News9
Colorado3:16:48Reality television10
Massachusetts3:18:36Stand-up Comedy11
Connecticut3:20:24Reality television12
Virginia3:24:36ESPN13
Vermont3:25:12Late-night talk show14
New York3:25:48Reality-Television15
New Jersey3:25:48Reality television16
Hawaii3:25:48ESPN17
DC#N/ADocumentary18
Illinois3:28:12Sitcom19
Oklahoma3:29:24Sitcom20
Kansas3:29:24ESPN21
Nebraska3:30:00ESPN22
New Hampshire3:30:36Children’s Television Series23
Iowa3:31:12ESPN24
Wyoming3:31:48Cartoons25
Maine3:31:48News26
North Carolina3:33:00ESPN27
Arizona3:33:00News28
South Dakota3:34:12ESPN29
North Dakota3:34:48Sitcom30
Texas3:35:24Telenovela31
Wisconsin3:36:36ESPN32
Tennessee3:37:12Sitcom33
South Carolina3:37:48ESPN34
Pennsylvania3:37:48ESPN35
Maryland3:39:00Reality television36
Indiana3:39:00Sitcom37
Ohio3:40:12ESPN38
Florida3:40:12Telenovela39
Delaware3:40:12ESPN40
Missouri3:42:00Sitcom41
Michigan3:46:12Sitcom42
Georgia3:49:48Stand-up Comedy43
Nevada3:51:00ESPN44
Kentucky3:52:48ESPN45
Rhode Island4:02:24Reality television46
Louisiana4:07:12ESPN47
Alabama4:16:12ESPN48
West Virginia4:18:36ESPN49
Arkansas4:20:24Sitcom50
Mississippi4:22:48ESPN51

Methodology 

The team at VerizonSpecials.com used “TV watch time data” from the most recent American Time Use Survey state-level estimates (2015–2019). We found each state’s favorite TV genre using the Google Trends data from January 2019 to December 2019. All fifty states plus the District of Columbia were included in the study. Puerto Rico was not included. 

Who We Are

VerizonSpecials.com is an online authorized retailer of Verizon. Verizonspecials.com blog is for informational purposes and does not represent the views of Verizon.

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