Only 14% of US TV viewers change channel during the commercial break

"TV advertising and program promotions reach 85% of adults daily; viewers typically see 26 advertising or promotional breaks daily, at an average length of 2 minutes and 46 seconds per break;
The frequency of channel-changing and /or changing rooms is very similar in the few minutes before a commercial break, during the commercial break and in the few minutes after the commercial break:
According to the study, 11% of viewers change channels during the four minutes of TV programming before the commercial break; only 14% change channels during commercials; and 13% change channels in the four-minute period after programming returns. In other words, 86% of viewers remain with live TV during commercials -- a finding consistent with previously disclosed Nielsen data;
A similar pattern emerges with room changes: 19% change rooms in the four minutes before a commercial break; 20% during; and 21% in the four minutes after programming returns.
Similarly, viewers do not increase or adjust their “multi-tasking” habits during commercial breaks:
Fully 55% of viewers were found to be engaged solely with media – led largely by live TV viewing – during the two minutes of TV programming prior to commercial breaks, with the number actually growing to 56% following onset of a commercial;
Multi-tasking was found to accompany about 45% of all media use. Concurrent activities are led by “care of another,” at 12% in the two minutes prior to and during commercial breaks; and “meal preparation,” at 8% in both cases. Some of these activities do not necessarily preclude simultaneous attention being paid to media."
Source: The Video Consumer Mapping (VCM) study sponsored by the Council for Research Excellence (CRE), reported in a press release from CRE, 10th May 2010
Methodology: "The VCM study, conducted throughout 2008 by researchers from Ball State University and Sequent Partners, was a groundbreaking event in video-audience research. The $3.5 million project was the first ever to involve the in-person, computer-assisted observation of the media consumption habits of 376 adults. All told, the VCM study -- the largest and most extensive observational study of media usage ever conducted -- generated data covering more than three-quarters of a million minutes or a total of 752 observed days."