The diffusion of television ownership was rapid and demo- graphically broad. Contemporaneous polling data show that tele- vision penetration rose from 8% to 82% from 1949 to 1955 among those with high school degrees, and from 4% to 66% among those without. Other demographic groups tend to show a similar pat- tern: television diffusion was rapid among both whites and non- whites, and among both elderly and nonelderly Americans. 7 In households with television, viewership had already surpassed four and a half hours per day by 1950 (Television Bureau of Ad- vertising 2003)
