NEW YORK -- The number of video game consoles in U.S. television households has expanded by 18.5 percent since the fourth quarter of 2004, according to a new report released by Nielsen Wireless and Interactive Services, a service of The Nielsen Company.

In the fourth quarter of 2006 there were 45.7 million homes with video game consoles, representing 41.1 percent of all TV households, compared to 39.1 percent (43 million) in 2005, and 35.2 percent (38.6 million) the previous year.

The increase in both the number and the percentage of U.S. TV households with video game consoles is significant given that the number of total television households has risen 1.6 percent during the same period.