53% of Americans Have an HDTV: Survey
Tipping point: At least half of U.S. consumers now have an HDTV.
As of June, about 53% of American households now have a high-def TV, compared with 35% in 2008 and 23% in 2007, according to a CTAM analysis of consumer survey data from research firm Centris.
Of those with HDTVs, 69% now subscribe to a high-definition programming service, compared with 56% last year.
CTAM’s report also found that people who have moved recently are more likely than non-movers to plan to buy an HDTV set in the next year (26% vs. 15%), as well as subscribe to an HD programming service (15% vs. 8%) or DVR service (17% vs. 7%).
The research is part of Centris’s omnibus telephone survey conducted from June 5-14. The sample includes 1,144 randomly selected adult consumers 18 or older; the study has a +/- 3.5 percentage point margin of error.
ZoetMB commented:
That's because many consumers don't have to pay for HTDV. Many MSOs only require consumers to rent an HDTV box, but the HDTV channels are provided for the same tier of service as the SDTV channels for no extra charge. Therefore, the only price increase is the box rental.
MSOs are getting price increases not by virtue of the HDTV channels, but by virtue of constant price increases and channel reductions on basic services.
Personally, I think MSOs are going to have to move to a full ala-carte offering where each channel is assigned X points and you're entitled to so many points for each tier. No one needs 500 channels and the channels one does want to watch are getting lost in the clutter.
Skeptic commented:
Decent report on the surface numbers, but let's dig a little deeper... 53% HDTV owners * 69% w/HDTV subs = 36.6% of US households are actually paying for HD. This is a nice trend, but hardly a tipping point. nearly 65% of households are NOT paying for HD now - either because of budget or by choice.
Now fast forward a few years in the future... as we actually do get to a tipping point, more people are buying HD subs - does this become an implicit price increase? When "all" their subs are on HD, do you think MSOs will be eager to roll HD (with its juicy margins) into their standard offerings? Do you think those subs are all going to be eager to pay extra when everything is HD (of course we'll pay extra for TV perpetually)? Sounds like a business model crisis in the future. When HD becomes a commodity, look for a shakeup.
