Americans watch yet more TV, Nielsen reports

Americans watched more television than ever in the fourth quarter, The Nielsen Co. reported Monday, even though the Internet is providing another way to watch.

The average American older than 2 years watched television for 151 hours per month, Nielsen said.

That was up from 146 hours in the same period the previous year.

More watching of recorded TV explained some of the increase: that was up to 7 hours from 5 hours the year before. That included digital video recorders like the TiVo and "Start Over" features offered by some cable companies.

Among those who watch video on the Internet and on cell phones, the time spent viewing increased from the third quarter, but at much lower levels. The average user of Internet video spent two hours and 53 minutes on that per month, Nielsen said

In a separate report out Monday, Leichtman Research Group said only 1 percent of adults view recent TV shows online daily, and they're no more likely to consider disconnecting their TV subscriptions.

Leichtman's findings were based on a survey of 1,250 households last year.