Let the width of the television be \( w \) inches. According to the problem, the length \( l \) is given by:
\[ l = 2w + 3 \]
The formula for the perimeter \( P \) of a rectangle is:
\[ P = 2l + 2w \]
We know the perimeter is 144 inches, so we can set up the equation:
\[ 2l + 2w = 144 \]
Now we can divide the entire equation by 2 to simplify:
\[ l + w = 72 \]
Next, we can substitute the expression for \( l \) from the first equation into this simplified perimeter equation:
\[ (2w + 3) + w = 72 \]
Combining like terms gives:
\[ 3w + 3 = 72 \]
Now, we will subtract 3 from both sides:
\[ 3w = 69 \]
Next, divide by 3 to solve for \( w \):
\[ w = 23 \]
Now that we have the width, we can find the length using the expression we found earlier:
\[ l = 2w + 3 = 2(23) + 3 = 46 + 3 = 49 \]
Thus, the width of the television is:
\[ \boxed{23} \]
To verify, we can check that the perimeter is correct with these dimensions:
\[ P = 2l + 2w = 2(49) + 2(23) = 98 + 46 = 144 \]
Since the calculation checks out, the width is indeed \( \boxed{23} \) inches.
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