MUMBAI: Nielsen Media Research's new findings revealed that the number of ethnic television homes in the US has increased significantly since last year.

Because of more people migrating to the South and Western regions of the US, Nielsen is reporting many shifts in its local market rankings. Among the ethnic population, the number of Asian television homes increased the most by 3.2 per cent to 4.22 million. Last year the number stood at 4.09 million.

On the other hand, the number of Hispanic television homes in the US increased by 2.9 per cent to 11.23 million (against last year's 10.91 million) and African American television homes increased by 0.8 per cent to 13.28 million (against last year's 13.17 million).

Nielsen has estimated the total number of television households within the US (including Alaska and Hawaii) as 110.2 million now, which was an increase of 1/2 per cent over last year. These estimates, which are projected to 1 January, 2006, will be used for the entire 2005-2006 television season.

Nielsen's new national universe estimates also reflect the aging of the baby boom generation. The US Census Bureau defines the baby boomers as persons born in the post-World War II period from 1946 to 1964 when the US birth rates were at record high levels.

In 2006, the oldest boomers will reach age 60, while the youngest will reach age 42. While the per cent of total persons in US TV Homes increased by approximately one per cent, there were larger per cent increases in the number of persons over age 55.

Also, many of the local television markets increasing in Nielsen's Designated Market Area (DMA) rank are in the southern and western regions of the United States. This movement is attributed to many people recently migrating south and west, and is consistent with the population growth estimates recently released by the US Census Bureau. According to the most recent US Census Bureau estimates, 60 of the 100 fastest growing counties were in the southern portion of the US and 23 were in the west.

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

• Houston moves into the top 10 TV markets
• Tampa-St. Petersburg moves up to No. 12
• Phoenix moves up to No. 14
• Portland, Oregon moves up to No. 23
• Charlotte moves up to No. 27
• Columbus, Ohio moves up two spots to No. 32
• West Palm Beach-Ft. Pierce moves up to No. 38
• Harrisburg-Lancaster-Lebanon-York moves up to No. 41
• Albuquerque-Santa Fe moves up to No. 46
• Las Vegas moves up three spots to #48
• Greensboro-High Point-Winston Salem moves up to No. 47

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