Couch potatoes rule! New study shows Americans rate TV as top form of entertainment

According to today’s Hollywood Reporter, something called “Deloitte’s fourth annual State of the Media Democracy report” reveals that 34 percent of Americans rate TV as their favorite medium (up from 27 percent last year), with 71 percent listing it in their top three. Second place went to the Internets; third to music; and fourth to books. Meanwhile, only 22 percent of those polled cited going to the movies as their preferred form of entertainment.

Shocking! Well, not really. If you haven’t heard, the economy’s in the crapper and one of the easiest ways to save money is to cut back on entertainment — a whopping 72 percent of us are doing just that, according to this Deloitte study. When consumers are choosing between the steep price of admission and pay-per-view or a good old fashioned DVD rental, guess which takes the hit? Besides, with pheoms like Lost and American Idol, combined with the continued prominence of cable, a huge chuck of television programming is reliably awesome. So why shouldn’t we all have added two hours to the amount of time we sit in front of the tube this year, to 17.8 hours a week?

As someone who watches an obscene amount of TV (“for work!” she says desperately) and who regularly sees no point in going outside (especially in the winter) when there are Breaking Bad eps to catch up on and Rachel Zoe Projectsto gag over, I can dig these stats. I still go to the movies plenty, but nothing beats my own living room.

What about you, PopWatchers? Are you proud members of the Couch Potato Club, preferring the almighty television above all other forms of entertainment, or do you still rank a trip to the multiplex as your be-all, end-all amusement?

Answer in the poll below!