With seemingly everyone falling all over themselves to buy HDTVs at falling prices, it seems baffling that the number of American homes equipped with TVs dropped for the first time in nearly two decades. But that’s the result Nielsen has derived from its research. The firm announced the 2012 Advance/Preliminary TV Household Universe Estimate (UE) will be set at 114.7 million, slipping from the 114.7 million 2011 figure.

Released in a Nielsen Wire story, the numbers mean that the total estimated percentage of U.S. homes with TVs fell from 98.9 percent of households to 96.7 percent.

Nielsen says the reasons for the decline include the shift to digital streaming — TVs that aren’t hooked up to traditional programming sources don’t count as TV-having households — as well as the tough economy.

How many people do you know who don’t own a TV?

Nielsen Estimates Number of U.S. Television Homes to be 114.7 Million [Nielsen Wire via Engadget]

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