ABSTRACT
Television is an entertainment and information medium that pervades our lives. Approximately 98.2 percent of all U.S. homes have one or more television sets.1 Moreover, 95.7 percent of those same homes have a DVD playback device.2 The number of available digital-based cable or satellite channels has increased exponentially from an estimated 113 channels in 1994 to well over 300 channels today.3 According to Nielsen Media Research, the average American home has the television set on more than seven hours per day.4 For many such viewers, television is a source of entertainment and news, while for others television provides a general backdrop to one’s day-to-day activities. Television and the Internet are the two principal leisure activities for most Americans.
