Canuck TV viewing down

World Brief

By VARIETY STAFF

Television viewing in Canada hit a two-decade low in the fall of 1999, according to a national survey released Thursday.

Locals tuned in for an average 21.6 hours weekly per the report from Statistics Canada, the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) and Heritage Canada.

The greatest decline in numbers came in under-25s who may be surfing the Internet instead -- 42% of Canadian households has one regular Internet user, up from 36% in 1998.

Other viewers may be turning to the movies, which hit a 38-year attendance high of 112.8 million visits in 1999.