NEW YORK – Fans of television comedy are stuck in a time warp.

TV viewers are watching more sitcoms each week than they did a decade ago, a new study concluded. Unfortunately for broadcast networks, they’re tuning in to “Friends,” “Seinfeld” and “Everybody Loves Raymond” reruns more than anything new on the air.

As network executives spend early spring behind closed doors plotting their fall schedules, the statistics starkly illustrate how these programmers are forced to compete against the best of the last 30 years when developing new comedies.

“The viewers say we’re not going to tolerate mediocrity anymore because we’ve got the classics and there’s a lot of competition out there,” said NBC Entertainment President Kevin Reilly on Thursday.

There have been a handful of new sitcom successes this season, most recently the promising start of Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ “The New Adventures of Old Christine” on CBS. NBC’s “My Name is Earl” and CBS’ “How I Met Your Mother” have shown promise creatively and in the ratings.

Only two sitcoms rank in Nielsen Media Research’s top 20 programs this season: CBS’ “Two and a Half Men” and “The New Adventures of Old Christine,” the latter with only three episodes aired.

The average household is tuning in 4.84 hours worth of sitcoms each week this season, according to a report by ad buyers Magna Global. During the 1993-94 season, it was 3.78 hours.