Canadians are watching less U.S. TV, and Statistics Canada has the graphs to prove it, showing that domestic news and current affairs shows are growing in popularity among Canadians at the expense of American-made dramas and comedies.

According to a new report, foreign dramas and comedies declined with Canadian viewers in 2003, the most recent year for which figures are available. The overall viewing time for foreign drama on conventional TV dropped to 20.1% in 2003 from 22.9% in 1998.

The average Canadian spent 21.7 hours per week watching TV in 2003, compared to 22.3 hours in 1998.

The study indicates Canadians spent 32.6% of their total viewing time watching Canadian news and public affairs programs on conventional television, up from 29.7% in 1998.

The total viewing time for domestic and foreign sports on conventional TV dropped to 6% in 2003 from 8% in 1998. Sports on pay-TV was also down.

Another gain went to Canadian pay and specialty TV, up 15%.

Once again, francophone viewers proved they prefer Canadian content. French television audiences watched seven times as much Canadian comedy in 2003, and three times as much Canadian drama, as did English TV viewers.

Overall, younger Canadians are spending less time sitting in front of the television. In 2003, men aged 18 to 24 spent an average of 11.1 hours per week watching TV. In 1998, this same group averaged 14.3 hours. Young women went from 17.6 hours to 15.5 over the same period. This trend continued with teens and children.

-www.statcan.ca