Scots watch five hours of TV every day (well, we did invent it)

SQUARE-EYED Scots are packing their homes with more televisions than ever - and on average watch TV for more than an hour more a day than they think, a new report has revealed.

The poll, carried out by TV Licensing, has shown that the majority of Scottish adults believe they watch an average of less than 21 hours of TV a week - around three hours a day - but official statistics collected by the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board reveal that the true average in 2010 was more than 33 hours a week - almost five hours a day.

And despite the rise of TV-on-demand services, such as BBC iPlayer, as well as the ability to watch programmes through games consoles and recording services, 93 per cent of Scots say the majority of their viewing is through traditional, live TV.

The TeleScope report, an overview of the nation's viewing habits, also shows the average Scottish household has a TV in 2.3 rooms and by 2020, expect that figure to rise to three - including 10 per cent of householders who believe they will go as far as to install a dedicated cinema room or a TV in their bathrooms over the next decade.

"This report shows that, while the ways, times and places we watch TV has changed dramatically over the last 20 years, the love affair Scots have with television continues unabated," said Fergus Reid, TV Licensing spokesman for Scotland.

In 2010, some 713,000 flat screen sets were bought in Scotland, almost twice the number in 2006. Ian Mowatt, lecturer in the cultural business department at Glasgow Caledonian University, said: "The huge increase in the number of television sets purchased is, in my opinion, largely due to viewers wanting to be prepared for digital television, although some who were prepared did not know so and bought new sets anyway."

Iain Logie-Baird, grandson of John Logie-Baird - the Scots-born inventor of the television set - said: "When my grandfather unveiled the world's first working television system in 1926, people were astonished.

"Cinema and radio were established by 1926, but television still seemed like science fiction. Today we are witnessing faster developments than ever before."

Mr Logie-Baird, who wrote the foreword to the report, added: "There is no question television is playing a more central role in our lives than ever."

713,000 flat screen TV sets were bought by Scots in 2010 - almost twice the number sold in 2006.

10% of flat screen TVs bought last year were web-enabled, compared to just 1 per cent in 2009.

59% of Scots typically watch between one and three hours of TV in one go.

10% of Scots expect to have a dedicated cinema room or a TV set in their bathroom by 2020.