Audience Penetration

Television (both broadcast and cable):
90% of all adults viewed yesterday. With this level of penetration, there is no meaningful difference by any demographic characteristic. Variation occurs only in amount of time spent viewing and what is viewed.

Source: Nielsen Media Custom Research Survey 2003, Adults 18+

Radio:
78% of all adults listen every day.

Source: Radar 71, Fall 2001, and Radio Advertising Bureau .

Newspapers:
55% of all adults read a weekday newspaper on an average day and 63% of all adults read a Sunday/Weekend newspaper on an average Sunday/Weekend.

Source: Scarborough Research Top 50 DMA Market Report, 2002.

Magazines:
no data.

Based on Households:

Television:
98.2% of all households have at least one television set (106.7m households as of January, 2003).

Source: Nielsen Media Research, 2003.

Cable:
69.8% of all television households have cable television.

Source: Nielsen Media Research, 2003.

Radio:
No data.

Newspapers:
no data.

Magazines:
81% of all households subscribe to and/or purchase at newsstands at least one magazine title every year.

Source: The Study of Magazine Buying Patterns, 1991, Conducted by Audits & Serveys, Inc.


Market penetration of different media (in percentage)
Year Daily Newspapers Television CATV VCRs Radio PCs Households
Weekday readers as % of U.S.adult population Sunday readers as % of U.S.adult population VCR hseholds
as % of TV households		 Radio households
as % of U.S.households		 PC households as % of U.S.households Total U.S.households
(in 1,000s)
TV households as % of U.S.households CATV households
as % of TVouseholds
1940 81.1 34,949
1945 NA NA
1950 9.0 94.7 43,554
1955 64.5 0.5 96.4 47,874
1960 87.1 1.4 95.6 52,799
1965 92.6 2.4 98.6 57,436
1970 77.6 72.3 95.3 6.7 98.6 63,401
1975 NA NA 97.1 12.6 98.6 71,120
1980 66.9 66.6 97.9 19.9 1.1 99.0 80,776
1985 64.2 65.1 98.1 42.8 20.9 99.0 86,789
1990 62.4 67.1 98.2 56.4 68.6 99.0 93,760
1995 64.2 72.6 98.3 63.4 81.0 99.0 12.7 97,060
1996 58.8 68.5 98.3 65.3 82.2 99.0 21.7 97,540
1997 58.7 68.5 98.4 66.5 84.2 99.0 25.0 98,610
1998 58.6 68.2 98.3 67.2 84.6 99.0 33.3 99,680
1999 56.9 66.9 98.2 67.5 85.1 99.0 38.8 101,240
2000 55.1 65.1 98.2 68.0 85.1 99.0 51.0 102,680
2001 54.3 63.7 98.2 68.0 86.2     104,080
2002 55.4 63.1 98.2 69.4 91.2     107,400
2003     98.2 69.8 91.5     108,620
p=preliminary figure
Sources: Newspaper Assn. Of America, U.S. Census, Television Advertising Bureau, Forrester Research Inc.,
The Mass Media: Aspen Institute Guide to Communication Industry Trends, Sterling and Haight, 1978
The Pew Center for People and the  Press; U.S. Industry and Trade Outlook '99, McGraw-Hill and the U.S. Department of Commerce, The Press of Ohio, 1999. 
 

Internet Usage Characteristics
Internet spending Internet usage per
per person per year ($) person per year (hours)
1992 4.39 2
1993 5.35 2
1994 7.44 3
1995 15.03 7
1996 20.01 16
1997 27.23^ 22^
1998 35.3^ 30^
1999* 40.88^ 33^
2000* 45.35^ 37^
*projected
^1996 projected figures
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
and NUA Internet Surveys