In the 2006-07 television year, US households had their TV sets on for an average of 8 hours and 14 minutes per day, according to The Nielsen Company.

That is the same amount as during the 2005-06 season and a record high.

“Television clearly remains a very important part of daily life in the United States,” said Patricia McDonough, senior vice president of planning policy and analysis at Nielsen, in a statement.

The average amount of TV watched by individual viewers during the 2006-07 television year fell by 1 minute per day to 4 hours and 34 minutes.

Nielsen also found that the number of US households with digital video recorders reached 20.5% of the company’s National People Meter sample — up from 17.2% in May 2007.