Nielsen 'Universe' Expands Just 0.3%

The Nielsen universe continues to expand, albeit modestly -- with the number of U.S. TV households rising 0.3% to 121.0 million, according to the ratings firm's official 2020-21 TV season estimates.

The number of persons represented by the TV universe grew at an even more moderate rate, rising 0.1% to 307.9 million persons two years or older.

The universe estimates are the basis for Nielsen's audience ratings and share calculations.

In addition, Nielsen said, the percentage of total U.S. homes with televisions receiving traditional TV signals via over-the-air antenna, cable, DBS, telco or via a broadband internet connection connected to a TV set is currently at 96.2%, an increase of 0.1 percentage points from the 96.1% estimated last year for 2020.

1 comment about "Nielsen 'Universe' Expands Just 0.3%".
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  1. Ed Papazian from Media Dynamics Inc, September 1, 2020 at 11:29 a.m.

    Interesting, Joe. As other sources, including the Feds, report that there are roughly 128- 130  million U.S. households, the Nielsen projection means that about 8 million homes dont' have a working TV set. This is a far cry from 25 years ago when something like 98% of all homes had one or more sets.

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