Fewer households have TVs

One of those head-scratching surveys that is sure to fuel questions about the increasing role of the Internet in television viewing. The number of so-called TV households (defined as having at least one set and a cable, satellite or antenna connection) fell to 114.1 million in 2011, down about 600,000 from the year before, according to Nielsen. It's the second year in a row there's been a drop in television households. From the NYT:

The total number of Americans who watched any traditional TV in a given month also declined during the last three months of 2011, according to Nielsen: 284.4 million, down about 1.7 percent from 289.3 million during the same time period in 2010. To the astonishment of some in the industry, total TV viewing has been on the rise in the U.S. for years, despite a plethora of other entertainment options. But new Nielsen data, also released on Thursday, showed an unusual dip in TV viewing in the last three months of 2011. At the same time, some people are spending more time playing video games and watching Web video -- though TV still retains the lion's share of people's free time.

Here's the report.