Nielsen rethinks kids’ TV viewing

Nielsen Media Research, which already estimated that the average American child watches nearly 3 1/2 hours of television a day, said Thursday the actual figure may be much higher.

That was the conclusion the ratings company drew after comparing the differences in four cities where a more sophisticated measuring technology, the Local People Meter, was introduced in the past year.

In the four markets -- Detroit, Dallas, Philadelphia and Washington -- viewing levels last month among children ages 2 to 11 were 26% to 33% higher than during February 2005, Nielsen said.

“Because People Meters electronically and continually report viewing activity -- no matter how brief -- they more accurately capture what audiences watch on television,” the company said.

-- Lee Margulies