Most HDTV set owners refuse subscription services

Apr 7, 2008 8:58 AM

    

Of the almost 30 million North American consumers who paid $1000 or more for a new high-definition television set in the past year, only 44 percent pay for HD programming, a new survey has found.

Two in five U.S. television owners now have an HD set, said U.K.-based ABI Research in a report last week. However, most don’t pay a satellite or cable provider the $10 to $20 extra charge each month for HD programming.

This could be because of disc players and broadband downloading, or that most don’t even know they must pay for HD programming. “Some are satisfied with the alternatives to get HD content, such as broadband video and DVDs,” said Cesar Bachelet, senior analyst, multichannel video, at ABI.

North American consumers bought 10.3 million HDTVs in the fourth quarter, up 52 percent from a year earlier, according to NPD Group unit DisplaySearch. By 2012, more than 85 percent of U.S. households will have both HDTVs and access to HD signals either over the air or through a subscription service.




Want to use this article?
Click here for options!
Get Copyright Clearance

Share this article

blog comments powered by Disqus

 

Current Issue

Online captioning compliance

May 2012

The FCC has issued captioning requirements for all online video. Learn how to meet the requirements of the new rules and how to automate the technical process.

Read More articles...

Related Newsletter

Transition to Digital
Provides readers with weekly timely updates on FCC actions, industry news, and station build-out schedules.

Related Posts


Confused about the terminology in an article? Find definitions of common terms and abbreviations in Broadcast Engineering's Glossary.

 


Video Compression, Editing and Displays

Video Compression, Editing and Displays

Video compression, editing and displays is an in-depth tutorial on MPEG compression technology, editing MPEG content and evaluating color video monitors written by long-time video expert, trainer and writer Steve Mullen, Ph. D.

File Based Technology and Workflow

File Based Technology and Workflow

File-based technologies have replaced video tape methods for a majority of production and broadcast operations. The worlds of AV and IT are coalescing to create new methods and workflows for media

Sound Off Podcasts

 

Broadcast Engineering Digital Reference Guide

Browse Back Issues

Back to Top