Nielsen has distributed its "2010-11 Television Audience Report," and many of the headlines have focused on a slight drop in U.S. TV ownership. But what few of these stories have mentioned is that all-day television viewing grew in American households in 2011 by nearly one hour since 2009 to 59 hours and 28 minutes per week. That total was up 7 hours since 2000, 11 hours from 1990 and 13 hours per week dating to 1980.
The report also states that while overall TV households fell, ethnic households with TVs rose by almost 10 million over the past decade. There are currently 5.3 million more Hispanic TV households than there were in 2000, an additional 2.2 million African-American TV households and another 1.2 million Asian-American TV households. Total African-American TV households currently number 14.3 million in the U.S., compared to 14.0 million for Hispanics and 5.3 million for Asian, according to Nielsen.
Commercial Growth On TV Continues
The Nielsen 2010-11 Television Audience Report also shows that the number of commercials on broadcast television in 2010 rose 9% in primetime and 10% in daytime.
In primetime, 30-second commercials comprised 55% of all spots. During 2010, the number of 15-second units increased 13% from 2009, while the number of 30-second spots rose 11%. The number of 60-second commercials declined 22%.
In daytime, the number of 30-second spots on the broadcast networks decreased 2%, while the number of :60s increased 55%, albeit off a lower base number.
