More Americans tuned to TV

TV sets in American homes are on more than ever, Nielsen Media Research reported Thursday.

During the yearlong television season that ended Sept. 18, the average U.S. household was tuned into TV for 8 hours, 11 minutes per day, the ratings company said -- an increase of 2.7% over the previous season and 12.5% higher than 10 years ago.

Nielsen defines “watching television” as being tuned into a broadcast, cable or satellite channel or to a program that was recorded off one of those channels on a VCR or DVD. It does not count programs recorded on TiVo or other digital video recorders, nor does it include time that the TV set might have been used for playing videogames.