Nielsen reports the number of TV households in the US will start dropping-- from 115.9M in 2011 (up from 114.9M in 2010) to an estimated 114.7M, a -1% decline despite the growing household numbers.
TV ownership will decline even more steeply among the key 18-49 demographic (by -2.7% Y-o-Y), continuing a downtrend starting from 2010. The analyst also says the percentage of TV-less homes in the US for 2012 will be at the highest level since 1975-- 3%, up from 1% in 2011.
However, the average number of TVs per household is still growing, and should reach 3.01 in 2012 (from 2.97 in 2011 and 2.93 in 2010).
The reasons for such a downturn are various-- ranging from an tough economy to increasingly tech-savvy customers. As cable providers continue to ramp up prices (despite higher unemployment rates and negative conditions), more customers simply drop their subscriptions in favour of spending their entertainment dollars on either internet video, gaming, or other sources of entertianment.
