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U.S. Census Bureau releases TV stats

Jun 3, 2008 8:00 AM

Last year, the sale of digital TV sets and displays generated an estimated $26.3 billion, up from $8.7 billion in 2003, according to statistics released May 29 by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The figures are part of a much larger collection of statistics from U.S. Census Bureau publications and other federal sources about the TV industry being released to attract the public’s attention to next February’s DTV transition.

The statistics also show:

110 million households had a TV set in 2006, compared with 76 million households in 1980.
98.2 percent of all households had a TV set in 2005, which is unchanged since 1999.
The average number of TV sets per home in 2005 was 2.6, up from 1.7 in 1980.
$273 million was generated from the sale of analog televisions in 2007, down from $5.8 billion in 2003.
U.S. households with cable TV service reached 73.2 million in 2006; two-thirds of households with a television have cable.
Individuals (12 and older) will spend an estimated 1704 hours this year watching TV; in 2000, the average was 1502.
In 2009, consumers will spend a projected average of $364.79 on cable and satellite TV.
10 million people have asked the government for the $40 coupons for converter boxes as of April 8.
11,448 retailers in the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands will accept the DTV converter box coupons.