Nielsen Reports 1.1% Increase in U.S. Television Households for the 2006-2007 Season

Nielsen Reports 1.1% Increase in U.S. Television Households for the 2006-2007 Season

Estimates of Local TV Households Show Continued Increases in Many Southern and Western Markets

NEW YORK, Aug. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- The total number of television households within the U.S. (including Alaska and Hawaii) is now estimated at 111.4 million, an increase of 1.1 percent since last year, according to Nielsen Media Research. These estimates, which are projected to January 1, 2007, will be used for the entire 2006-2007 television season. Nielsen today also reported many shifts in local market rankings, in large part because of more people migrating to the Southern and Western regions of the U.S., as well as a significant shift in New Orleans.

NATIONAL CHANGES:

Nielsen's national Universe Estimates (the estimate of television viewers within the population) also show that the number of viewers aged 2+ increased by 1.1 percent to 283.5 million. (see table below)

The national estimates reflect the continued growth of the baby boomers generation, which will reach ages 43 to 61 in 2007. One of the fastest growing demographic categories was persons age 55-64, which increased by 3.9%.

Echo Boomers/Generation Y (teens and 20's) also experienced strong growth, with persons 18-24 increasing by 2.0%.

Demographics Within U.S. Television Homes (000's)

Demographic 2005-2006 2006-2007 Change (%)

Persons 2+ 280,500 283,500 1.1
Women 18+ 111,990 113,320 1.2
Men 18+ 103,840 105,330 1.4
Women 55+ 36,210 37,100 2.5
Men 55+ 29,720 30,580 2.9
Persons 18-24 27,910 28,480 2.0
Persons 18-49 129,970 130,600 0.5
Persons 25-54 121,990 122,490 0.4
Children 2-11 39,960 40,060 0.3
Teens 12-17 24,710 24,790 0.3

LOCAL MARKET SHIFTS

As has been the case in recent years, many of the increases for local television markets in Nielsen Designated Market Area (DMA) rank are in the Southern and Western regions of the United States. This movement continues to be attributed to population migrations to the South and the West. Of the 60 markets that moved up in rank, more than half are located in the Southern or Western regions of the United States. These changes are consistent with the U.S. Census Bureau's most recent annual population estimates, which indicated that from 2004 to 2005, the top 10 fastest growing states were in the South or the West.

These estimates, which are projected to January 1, 2007, will be used in meter market samples beginning with the data of September 23rd, 2006 and in diary samples with the publication of the October/November surveys.

The following is a list of the more notable increases at the top of Nielsen's DMA ranking:

* Within the top ten markets, San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose moved to 5th
and Dallas-Ft. Worth moved to 6th
* Phoenix, which moved up one spot last year, moves up again this year to
13th
* Miami-Ft. Lauderdale moves up to 16th
* Orlando-Dayton Beach-Melbourne moves to 19th
* Las Vegas moves up five spots to 43rd
* Mobile-Pensacola moves up three spots to 59th
* Baton Rouge moves up three spots to 93rd
* Palm Springs moves up four spots to 149th

For a full listing of the 2005-2006 local television markets, please visit: http://www.nielsenmedia.com/nc/nmr_portal/pubdoc?guid=8431c61b1873d010VgnVCM100000ac0a260aRCRD

Nielsen Media Research annually reports television household estimates each September based on information from a variety of sources, including Claritas (a leading provider of demographic data), the United States Census Bureau, and Nielsen's own television samples.

Nielsen soon will release estimates on ethnic demographics, including estimates on African American, Latino and Asian television populations.

GULF COAST MEASUREMENT

Nielsen's 2006-2007 Universe Estimates are based on Claritas projections that have been adjusted to reflect the demographic impacts of the 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes. As a consequence, the New Orleans DMA is now estimated to contain 566,980 television households, down from 672,150 last year. New Orleans is now ranked as the 54th largest DMA, down from 43rd last year.

Because traditional demographic sources are not up to date or do not yet reflect the post-hurricane population changes, Claritas produced these estimates using alternative sources and methods. These sources included information from local demographers, the Red Cross, and FEMA.

Additional information is available on the Claritas website, www.claritas.com. Nielsen Media Research will continue to evaluate post-hurricane population data sources and may make adjustments if data becomes available that would improve the quality and accuracy of the estimates.

About Nielsen Media Research

Nielsen Media Research is the leading provider of television audience measurement and related services, worldwide. In the United States, Nielsen's National People Meter service provides audience estimates for all national program sources, including broadcast networks, cable networks, Spanish language networks, and national syndicators. Local ratings estimates are produced for television stations, regional cable networks, MSOs, cable interconnects, and Spanish language stations in each of the 210 television markets in the U.S., including People Meter service in ten markets and electronic set-metered service in 46 markets. For more information, please visit www.NielsenMedia.com.

Nielsen Media Research is a unit of VNU, a global information and media company with leading market positions and recognized brands in marketing information (ACNielsen), media information (Nielsen Media Research), business publications (Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Computing, Intermediair) and trade shows. The privately held company is active in more than 100 countries, with headquarters in Haarlem, the Netherlands, and New York, USA. VNU employs nearly 41,000 people and had total revenues of EUR 3.5 billion in 2005. For more information, visit www.vnu.com.

Contact: Gary Holmes 646.654.8975

Web sites: http://www.NielsenMedia.com
http://www.vnu.com
http://www.claritas.com

Source: Nielsen Media Research

CONTACT: Gary Holmes for Nielsen Media Research, +1-646-654-8975

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