The total number of U.S. TV households is now estimated at 110.2 million, an increase of 0.5% over last year, according to Nielsen Media Research. That estimate will be used for the entire 2005-06 television season.
The number of ethnic-TV households has also increased significantly since last year, and because of people migrating to the Southern and Western regions of the United States, Nielsen is also reporting many shifts in its local market rankings.
The number of Hispanic television homes increased by 2.9%, to 11.2 million, and Asian TV homes gained 3.2%, to 4.2 million. African-American TV households went up 0.8%, to 13.3 million.
In terms of DMA rankings, the changes included Houston moving into the Top 10 TV markets, bumping out Detroit. Tampa-St. Petersburg, Fla., moved up to No. 12 from 13, displacing Seattle-Tacoma. And Phoenix moved up to No. 14, taking the place of Minneapolis-St. Paul. Columbus, Ohio, moved up two spots, to No. 32.
