• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, February 8, 2007

TV set manufacturers can rest easy. The broadband boom doesn't appear to negate the need for a TV set, according to a new report from Nielsen. The research firm expects the number of U.S. TV homes to grow by 47% over a 40-year period.

Projections in a new report call for TV households to increase from 111.4 million in 2010 to 163.7 million by 2050. Within this time frame, the number of potential viewers is expected to jump from 283.5 million to 396.3 million.

Given the expected population growth, the report also projects the number of Hispanic TV homes to soar by 167% from 11.6 million in 2010 to 31 million in 2050 (to 94.4 million people).

The number of Asian households is also expected to leap significantly, by 166%, from 4.4 million in 2010 to 11.6 million in 2050 (to 34.8 million people).

African-American homes are projected to jump 66% over the time frame from 13.5 million in 2010 to 22.4 million (to 56.5 million people) in 2050.