We actually had to discuss this years ago, my DH was the same as yours, he wanted me sitting there while he watched TV. I like TV fine but not every night. He would take it personally when i wouldn’t be in the room with him, even though i clearly said it was about the TV noise. We just got better about communicating and he seems to have accepted that it isn’t personal when i choose not to watch TV. If i tell him that it’s specifically about what he is watching, he will offer to change it to something I like.

Dh and I both enjoy watching nature shows or things on PBS, and both enjoy certain comedy series like 30 Rock or similar. We'll also watch house hunters or something occasionally. He watches some sports (big games, maybe 6 times per year) and I'll often sit on the couch browsing the Internet next to him. I love trashy reality TV that he doesn't want to be in the room for. We have one TV and don't ever watch shows on our devices.

We rarely watch tv together unless it’s the PBS Newshour. I have an art studio where I work and watch TV and my husband watches in his office. We have different tastes in shows so it works out fine.

Sometimes we watch stuff together, sometimes we watch separately. It's a good mix, and we're both happy with it.

Yes, we usually have a few different series we’re watching at any given time. We look forward to deciding on new series and then on that time together, which we do most nights after the kids go to bed.

I don't really care for anything on tv but I will sit in the living room while he watches his favorite shows or sports. When I get tired of the noise I go in my room.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We don't have a TV. We each use our laptops or tablets, or we watch something together on a computer screen that we've set up for movies.

My friends do this. They are a big “we don’t own a tv” family but they still watch shows and movies all the time on devices. Why not just get a tv for a better viewing experience?

We’re a “no tv” family, but I would never say that out loud to anyone because it implies we don’t watch any shows or movies and that is not true. In our case it’s laziness and the fact that we don’t center our conversations or schedules around shows. Prior to marriage, I had a roommate who owned a TV. My husband also did not own a TV in his house with roommates. We said we’d buy one with wedding gift money, but never got around to it. We finally got a TV just before the pandemic in 2020 when our kids were 5 and 3 and we wanted to watch movies with them. They broke that TV by accident almost 6mo ago by throwing a toy. We thought a good natural consequence of ignoring rules would be for them to live without the TV for a while. We’ll get a new one eventually, but we’re in the middle of some decorating projects and we did not make a dedicated space in our house for a TV besides in the finished basement.

What is the point of saying you're a 'no tv' family?? Are you implying that it is better? How is it better to watch shows alone, on your own device, screwing up your eyesight?
I guess it's all semantics.

I'm in the same boat OP, where my husband has decided that our family room television is his. He decides every single night what sports he's going to watch, and the *only* exceptions to sports are Dateline, HGTV, or Shark Tank. I'm so over all of those that I just leave and go read, which I prefer anyway. But then he complains that I'm off doing something else. I literally can't win.

We watch together every night. We only have one tv by choice. I don't get the everyone in their own rooms thing.

I watch what my wife wants to watch. Only have 1 tv and not worth discussing it. But we are an older couple.

We watch one show together after the kids are in bed every night (unless we are out on the weekend, like 1-2x/month) and it has to be something we both like even if one of us likes it more. We'll make occasional exceptions for a big deal live sporting event one of us cares about (usually we'll both watch then) or the live finale of a competition-type show where watching it later usually means it gets spoiled (usually the person will watch alone).

Because of schedule we only enjoy approximately 45minutes to an hour each night, so she and I will watch a program together.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We don't have a TV. We each use our laptops or tablets, or we watch something together on a computer screen that we've set up for movies.

My friends do this. They are a big “we don’t own a tv” family but they still watch shows and movies all the time on devices. Why not just get a tv for a better viewing experience?

We’re a “no tv” family, but I would never say that out loud to anyone because it implies we don’t watch any shows or movies and that is not true. In our case it’s laziness and the fact that we don’t center our conversations or schedules around shows. Prior to marriage, I had a roommate who owned a TV. My husband also did not own a TV in his house with roommates. We said we’d buy one with wedding gift money, but never got around to it. We finally got a TV just before the pandemic in 2020 when our kids were 5 and 3 and we wanted to watch movies with them. They broke that TV by accident almost 6mo ago by throwing a toy. We thought a good natural consequence of ignoring rules would be for them to live without the TV for a while. We’ll get a new one eventually, but we’re in the middle of some decorating projects and we did not make a dedicated space in our house for a TV besides in the finished basement.

Yes, we only have one TV and neither of us loves watching TV/movies on a device, so if we are watching TV, it is usually together. Sometimes one of us will choose to go read instead, or occasionally one of us has work to finish up or my DH will play this strategy game he likes on his computer. In which case the other person might watch something on their own.

We have a lot of overlap in entertainment interests though. We both like sports and will often watch a baseball or football game together if there is one on. We have broad interests in different kinds of television and movies and are both willing to watch almost anything the other person is interested in. There are a few exceptions -- he likes certain animated shows I don't care for (Rick & Morty, Simpsons) and I enjoy a guilty pleasure like Bridgerton now and then. But most stuff falls in the middle where even if one of us is more interested than the other, we're both willing to watch.

Right now, we are watching the new Obi Wan show, Hacks, the occasional baseball game (we normally watch more but the Nats are pretty hard on the eyes right now), and will soon watch the new season of For All Mankind together. It's a good mix of stuff that also gives us something to talk about -- whether Juan Soto's slump will end soon, if season two of Hacks was as good as season one, how Obi Wan compares to the Mandalorian, why so few people watch For All Mankind even though it is excellent.

It's hard to imagine just going out separate ways in the evening. That's the main time we have for each other, between work and kids. Our relationship mostly takes place on couch while watching TV these days, and probably will for the next few years until kids are old enough for us to start going out more again.

Every night. DW loves to research shows and movies, so we find a series or movie we both want to watch.

When she's not here, I have shows I watch alone. And she often watches movies without me.