Jane Chen /Shanghai Daily news

People in Shanghai love watching TV, and spend an average 188 minutes each day as a couch potato--longer than the national average, today's Wenhui Daily reported, quoting a local TV operator.
Shanghai Media Group, which operates the city's three TV stations, is selling advertising slots for next year. 
It said the prime TV period remains at between 6 and 9 pm, while the three most popular services are news, TV drama and light entertainment. 
People prefer to stay-tuned to the news channel for the dramas that follow bulletins rather than switch to the specialized drama channel, as the ratings for drama series on the news channel, no matter of which category, stand much higher than those of other channels, SMG noted.
To sharpen its edge in the fiercely competitive market,  SMG will reinvigorate its schedules next year with more new programs.
The news channel will launch a debate-like talk show and a program presented in Shanghai-dialect, while the TV series channel will become 24-hour. Other channels of the group are also preparing new programs.
According to SMG, Dragon TV, one of its three TV stations, has reported the fastest growth, with advertising sales nearly tripling in the three years since its establishment.