Nielsen Raises U.S. Household Estimate Slightly

Nielsen Media Research says the estimated universe of U.S. TV households will inch up 1.1 percent to 111.4 million for the 2006-2007 broadcast season, which begins September 23.

Similarly, the estimated number of TV viewers will rise 1.1 percent--to 283.5 million potential viewers, with the largest growth coming from the Southern and Western sections of the United States.

Nielsen says the fastest-growing demo groups are older viewers ages 55 to 64--a group that rose 3.9 percent. Men ages 55 and older grew by 2.9 percent, and women 55 and older climbed by 2.5 percent.

After that, the next-biggest growth area has been young adults 18-24, which rose by 2.0 percent. The slowest-growing TV viewer group is young viewers: Kids 2-11 and teens 12-17, both of which inched up just 0.3 percent.

Two key advertiser viewer groups also saw little change. Adults 18-49 rose 0.5 percent to 130,600,000; adults 25-54 grew 0.4 percent to 122,490,000.

Nielsen also adjusted its TV audience numbers, due to the 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes. New Orleans is now estimated to have 566,980 TV households, down from 672,150 in 2005. New Orleans moves down 11 places--now ranked as the 54th-largest TV market--down from 43rd last year.

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