The number of households in the US that own television sets is estimated to have declined for the first time in 20 years, and the reason comes down to watching TV on other devices.

The forecast figures come from Nielsen and were released on Tuesday. They show that the switch over from analog to digital broadcast in 2009, and the economic downturn mixed with the trend among consumers to watch TV programs across other platforms, including computers and tablet devices, were the main reasons for the shift.

Still, it had been estimated that in 2012, around 96.7 % of US households will still own television sets, down from 98.9 % in 2011.

Nielsen, a division of Nielsen Holdings, based their preliminary estimates on the 2010 US census data, which showed an increase in the number of households and trends of TV ownership of the past few years. Adjusted estimates will be provided in August 2011.

Nielsen, which also keeps tabs on TV ratings and often determines the fate of programing, also said that a number of younger urban consumers are going without paid TV subscriptions, often referred to as “cord cutting.”

The effects of cord cutting for the long term are still unclear, Nielsen said. The findings mixed with the massive growth in connected TV sets show that the future for TV is one that gives access to both online and offline content.

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