• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer, March 30, 2007

According to a new report from NeilsenMedia, The number of television channels that the average U.S. home receives has reached a record high of 104.2 TV channels, an increase of almost eight channels since 2005. In 2006, the average household tuned to 15.7, or 15.1% of the 104.2 channels available for at least 10 minutes per week.

General dramas still dominate the broadcast networks program lineups, comprising 50% (67 of 134) of the primetime programs, an increase of four programs since last year. And, the 30-second commercial is still the television advertising standard in primetime, accounting for 57% of all commercial units.

The percentage of homes receiving 100+ channels rose from 42% in 2005 to 47% in 2006, with 33% receiving between 60 and 99 channels, down 4% since 2005. Nielsen found that the average television household in the U.S. receives more than 17 broadcast TV channels, while 58% of all homes can receive 15 or more, and 36% receive 20 or more.

In 2006, the average household tuned to 15.7 (or 15.1%) of the 104.2 channels available. This compares to 2000, when the average home viewed 22.1% of the available channels (13.6 channels viewed out of 61.4 available channels).

The total number of primetime broadcast programs and news programs has decreased slightly since last year. The number of Live Variety programs has declined as well, dropping from 15 in 2005 to 13 in 2006. Situation Comedies have dropped from 35 to 28 total programs.

An analysis of trends in broadcast network commercials shows that:

• The 30-second commercial, the television advertising standard in primetime, accounts for 57% of all units
• The use of the 15-second commercial has decreased in primetime but increased slightly in daytime
• In 2006, the total number of commercial units decreased in both primetime and daytime, dropping 2% in primetime and 2% in daytime
• The number of commercial minutes aired decreased in daytime but increased in primetime
• In primetime, 30-second and 15-second units make up 90% of all commercials
• Together, 15s and 30s account for 93% of the total daytime commercials. Fifteen-second units account for the largest percentage of daytime commercials at 50%.

Other TV facts from the Nielsen Study include:

• There are an average of 111.4 million TV homes in the U.S. for the 2006-07 TV season
• The average U.S. TV home has 2.5 people and 2.8 television sets
• 28% of U.S. TV homes have Digital Cable
• 64% of homes have wired cable hook-ups, and 23% have satellite or specialized antenna systems to receive television signals
• 82% of U.S homes have more than one television sets at home
• 84% of U.S. homes have a DVD player

For additional information, please visit Nielsen here.