Report: Gap Between HDTV Ownership, HD Programming Use
The number of households with an installed HDTV continues to grow worldwide. However, this installed base of households is decidedly biased to two countries: the United States and Japan. Further, within the U.S. market, there is a significant gap between HDTV ownership and households utilizing HD programming, reports In-Stat.
The number of US HDTV households, defined as households having both an installed HD-capable TV set and also receiving and watching HD programming, increased by almost 40 percent in 2008. However, the growth rate could well have been much larger. "In the U.S., there are more than 39 million households with an installed HDTV set," Mike Paxton, an In-Stat analyst, said in a statement. "However, only 22 million of those are HDTV households, meaning that 17 million U.S. households with an installed HDTV set are not watching HD programming."