WASHINGTON DC, United States ? Americans watched an average of four hours and 49 minutes of television a day on average during the 2008-2009 TV season, a record high, the Nielsen Co. said Tuesday.

Nielsen, in a blog post, said the average amount of time Americans spent in front of the TV set during the September to September period was up four minutes from the previous year and 20 percent higher than 10 years ago.

The average American household watched eight hours and 21 minutes of television a day, up three minutes from the previous season and also an all-time high, Nielsen said.

Nielsen attributed the increased television consumption to several factors. It said there are more TV sets in the home now, more channels and content to choose from, and greater use of digital video recorders.