There’s a dizzying array of data available about the habits of Australian television watchers. To help inform policy and business decision makers – and the public – this report focuses on how children are watching free-to-air commercial TV.

The key finding is that far fewer kids aged 0 to 13 are watching child-specific programs (classified as C or P) on free-to-air commercial TV than they once did. This is despite the fact commercial broadcasters are meeting their regulatory obligations and delivering hundreds of hours of children’s content each year, most of which is locally produced.

Children still watch plenty of free-to-air commercial TV, but they engage with it differently. Children are now most likely to watch commercial TV when they are co-viewing with other family members, watching programs such as family entertainment shows, movies and major events.