• by Wayne Friedman , February 12, 2014

Who controls the TV remote? It’s still men -- but there is also a happy medium.

While 32% of men say they are in charge of the remote, 57% of both men and women say the ownership was shared, according to a national online survey conducted by Strata, an advertising buying and selling software company.

Some 15% percent of women said they had the sole power over the TV remote.

A total of 639 adults 18 or older who are in a relationship (dating, engaged or married) participated in the survey, which was conducted between February 3 and 4, 2014. Of the survey respondents, 49% were male and 51% were female.

The most popular shows for “couples” are some of the popular shows overall in television: CBS’ “Big Bang Theory” registered the best results with 9%, who said it was the top show watched with their significant other; ABC’s “Modern Family” was next at 3.5%; CBS’ “NCIS” and AMC’s “Walking Dead” were next at 3%.

Almost 70% of married couples felt watching TV together as a couple is a bonding experience, while 28% said they watch in a separate room some of the time. Of those unmarried couples, 52% said they never watch TV in a different room from their partner, with 28% saying they would only do so rarely.

"Watching TV" photo from Shutterstock.

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