Average U.S. Home Now Receives a Record 104.2 TV Channels, According to Nielsen

By NEWS RELEASE | March 22nd, 2007 View Comments

The number of television channels that the average U.S. home receives has now reached a record high of 104.2 TV channels. This and other television trends were released in a report from Nielsen that highlights population, television ownership and advertising trends in the United States.

Highlights from this Nielsen study include:

• In 2006, the average U.S. home received 104.2 channels, an increase of almost eight channels since 2005 and a record level.
• As the number of channels available to a household increases, so does the number of channels tuned. In 2006, the average household tuned to 15.7, or 15.1% of the 104.2 channels available for at least 10 minutes per week.
• General dramas still dominate the broadcast networks program lineups, comprising 50% (67 of 134) of the primetime programs, an increase of four programs since last year.
• The 30-second commercial is still the television advertising standard in primetime, accounting for 57% of all commercial units.

Number of Channels Available

In 2006, the average home received 104.2 channels, an increase of almost eight channels since 2005. The percentage of homes receiving 100+ channels rose from 42% in 2005 to 47% in 2006, with 33% receiving between 60 and 99 channels, down 4% since 2005. Nielsen found that the average television household in the U.S. receives more than 17 broadcast TV channels, while 58% of all homes can receive 15 or more, and 36% receive 20 or more.

As the number of channels available to a household increased, so did the number of channels tuned, although the percentage of available channels actually viewed decreased. In 2006, the average household tuned to 15.7 (or 15.1%) of the 104.2 channels available. This compares to 2000, when the average home viewed 22.1% of the available channels (13.6 channels viewed out of 61.4 available channels).

Number of Channels Available in the Average U.S. Home

Source: Nielsen Media Research, National People Meter Sample

Broadcast Network Programming Trends

Each year, Nielsen Media Research examines the English language broadcast networks’ (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CW, PAX and MNT) schedules to profile the number of programs, types of programs (situation comedies, dramas, etc.) and hours in each schedule.

The total number of primetime broadcast programs has decreased slightly since last year. The number of news programs has also declined slightly. General dramas still dominate the lineups, comprising 50% (67 of 134) of the programs, an increase of four programs since last year. The number of Live Variety programs has declined since last year, dropping from 15 in 2005 to 13 in 2006. Situation Comedies have decreased since last year, dropping from 35 to 28 total programs.

Types of Primetime Programs on Broadcast Networks

Source: Nielsen Media Research NOTE: Based on new fall line-ups of regularly scheduled programs, 25 minutes or longer. CW and MNT included as of ’06. Primetime hours: Mon.-Sat. 8-11pm & Sun. 7-11pm

Trends in Broadcast Network Commercials

The 30-second commercial is still the television advertising standard in primetime, accounting for 57% of all units. The 15-second commercial continues to be an important component in advertising. The use of the 15-second commercial has decreased in primetime but increased slightly in daytime. In 2006, the total number of commercial units decreased in both primetime and daytime, dropping 2% in primetime and 2% in daytime. The number of commercial minutes aired also decreased in daytime but increased in primetime. In primetime, 30-second and 15-second units make up 90% of all commercials. Together, 15s and 30s account for 93% of the total daytime commercials. Fifteen-second units still account for the largest percentage of daytime commercials at 50%.

Other Relevant TV Facts from the Nielsen Study:

• There are an average of 111.4 million TV homes in the U.S. for the 2006-07 TV season
• The average U.S. TV home has 2.5 people and 2.8 television sets
• 28% of U.S. TV homes have Digital Cable
• 64% of homes have wired cable hook-ups (down from 68% in 2000) and 23% have satellite or specialized antenna systems to receive television signals.
• 82% of U.S homes have more than one television sets at home
• 84% of U.S. homes have a DVD player

About The Nielsen Company
The Nielsen Company is a global information and media company with leading market positions and recognized brands in marketing information, media information, business publications, trade shows and the newspaper sector. The privately held company has more than 42,000 employees and is active in more than 100 countries, with headquarters in Haarlem, the Netherlands, and New York, USA.