Nielsen: 475,000 Fewer TV Households in 2012-13

September 13, 2012

An estimated 475,620 households have gone dark across the nation.

Nielsen's Local Television Market Universe found there are 114.2 million TV households in 2012-13, down from 114.6 million in 2011-12. So what's happening here?
 
First, the 2012-13 estimates are Nielsen's first to reflect the 2010 Census results for demographic details, so the numbers were likely to shift.
 
Second -- and more importantly -- people's TV habits have changed. They're spending more time streaming movies and shows, and in the process, have displaced traditional TV. Nielsen, as a result, announced it will be updating its definitions of TV households and TV devices for its ratings, taking into account video delivered to a TV set via the Web.
 
As broadcast and broadband media continue to collide, expect even more changes in the way people watch TV.
 
 

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