Nielsen put out its annual estimate of the number of U.S. TV households ahead of the 2016-17 TV season: 118.4 million, up 2 million (1.7%) from the TV universe estimate a year ago. 

Nielsen said that according to its National Television Household Universe Estimates the number of persons age 2 and older in U.S. TV households is about 301.7 million, up 1.6% from a year ago. U.S. Hispanic, black and Asian households are also up, owing to gains in population and TV penetration.

Nielsen bases its estimates on U.S. Census Bureau data and information from its national TV panel.

Nielsen said "the percentage of total U.S. homes with televisions receiving traditional TV signals via broadcast, cable, DBS or telco, or having a broadband Internet connection is currently at 96.0%, an increase of 0.8% from last year’s estimate."

In June, Nielsen estimated the number of pay-TV-subscribing households in the U.S. at 99.225 million, down from just over 100 million a year earlier.