Techniques are provided for performing radio frequency (RF) sensing to determine the viewing status of a television user. This can be used to determine user behavior during the playback of content (e.g., whether a user is watching the content), which can be used as a data point for determining the user's level of interest in the content. Using the status of the television user, embodiments can provide additional or alternative functionality, such as powering down and/or powering up the television. Furthermore, RF sensing may be performed by existing television hardware, such a Wi-Fi transceiver, and may therefore provide RF sensing functionality to a television with little or no added cost.