Mark Dolliver: Channel-Surf's Up

Alas, TV viewers aren’t really couch potatoes. When commercials come on, they leap into action, at least to the extent of grabbing the remote. A BIGresearch poll finds channel surfing is viewers’ top activity when a spot comes on, with 41 percent doing it. Other popular options: “talk with others in the room or by phone” (34 percent) and “mentally tune out” (30 percent). A mere 6 percent “regularly fully attend to commercials.” (Multiple responses were allowed, hence a total exceeding 100 percent.)