(28 April 2008 3:00 pm)

MUMBAI: A recent study of consumers across the US indicates that 25 per cent of US households (28 million) now have at least one HDTV set, up from 20 per cent in September 2007.

During the 2007-08 holiday and Super Bowl season this year, 5.5 million households brought home an HDTV set for the first time.

The study, conducted by Frank N. Magid Associates shortly after Super Bowl XLII, discovered that an impressive three million homes added a second HDTV during this same period, bringing multiple HDTV-set-homes up to nearly 10 million.

Magid Media Futures VP Maryann Baldwin says, “Consumers who become accustomed to the sleek and contemporary appearance of their first HD set are now looking to bring that benefit into other rooms in their home. However, owning an HDTV set and actually viewing HD are still two very different pursuits for many.”

In households with at least one HDTV set, the number who have taken steps to arrange for HD programming reception holds steady compared with other recent Magid studies, at 70 per cent.

Among the 30 per cent of HDTV set owners who have not made these arrangements, many cite perceived service costs and a limited number of channels available in high definition. Satellite customers make up half of this group, and most of them say they are not prepared to purchase the new equipment necessary to add HD service.

In the study, conducted with over 1,200 adults 21 and older, only three per cent of respondents said their household has an HDTV set that receives HD programming from their local stations via an over-the-air via antenna. This is a surprisingly small group, given that those with HDTV sets could at least add free, over-the-air HD reception to their sets through the purchase of an inexpensive digital receiver and antenna.

As HDTV set price points continue to fall, younger adults are buying HDTV sets at a faster pace. The research shows that, among adults aged 21 to 34 years who made an HDTV set purchase in the past year, 280 per cent say they did so to connect it to a high-definition video game console like the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3.

Frank N. Magid Associates VP, MD Jill Rosengard Hill says, “Now that HDTV set purchases have moved into the early majority phase of adoption, the demographic makeup of the HD population is looking more like the overall U.S. TV viewing universe”.

The accelerated rate of HD adoption appears poised to continue. Not only do three in ten households plan to purchase a new TV in the next year, nearly all of them say they will buy an HDTV set when they do make that purchase. The demand this year is driven by both the continuing decline in HD set prices and the mistaken belief among some consumers that the digital television transition slated for February 2009 requires that consumers actually purchase a set capable of displaying high definition.

Current HD owners will also drive continued demand for HD sets. Nearly four in ten current HDTV set owners plan to purchase yet another HDTV set in the next 12 months.

The findings also show that 24 per cent of those who do not currently own an HDTV set feel it is important that they will be able to watch the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in high definition, another driver that could lead to higher–than–normal–second quarter TV sales, a quarter typically known for its slow TV-purchase activity.

While few said the Super Bowl drove their purchase intent, 25 per cent of US households (a third of all Super Bowl viewers) watched at least some portion of the match between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots in high definition, nearly all viewing in their own home or in the home of a friend or family member.