The popularity of HDTV in the UK will grow rapidly over the next five years, with a new forecast from Informa Telecoms & Media projecting that by 2016, households with sets capable of receiving HD programming will climb to 94 percent.
According to Informa’s media research manager Adam Thomas, the number of UK households actually watching high-def programming will lag a bit behind the HD-ready homes. Thomas forecasts that by 2016, 72 percent of UK households will be watching in HD.
The discrepancy between UK homes with HD sets and those actually watching in HD is due to the popularity of Freeview, which is expected to have just half of its users watching HD programming by that time, he added.
The UK’s 72 percent figure compares with 91 percent of HD-capable households in the United States that watch programming in HD, according to Informa Telecoms & Media. However, the UK figure is in line with the 70 percent of HD-capable households projected to be watching in HD by 2016. As of 2011, 38 percent of UK households with HD-ready sets watch high-def programming.