Communications and Technology Industry Research

High-definition TV ownership now has reached 53 percent of total U.S. households, an 18 percentage point increase in ownership over 2008, when 35 percent of households reported owning an HDTV, says the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing. That was up from 23 percent penetration in 2007.

 

Among HDTV set owners, 69 percent now subscribe to high definition service, compared to 56 percent a year ago.

 

Ownership of large screen televisions of 32 inches and larger likewise has reached 59 percent of households, up from 52 percent in 2008 and 44 percent in 2007.

 

All of that has obvious implications for cable, telco and satellite video providers. Set ownership drives demand for HDTV tiers of service and digital-only tiers of service in general.

 

In 2009, digital cable market penetration was 34 percent, satellite was 28 percent, and telephone company penetration was six percent. Overall, cable has 53 percent of the market. Simple market dynamics therefore would suggest an opportunity for telco providers to gain significant more share.

 

The other important implication is that since virtually all telco video providers now report substantially better voice line retention when voice services are sold as part of bundles featuring video and broadband access, wider adoption of video entertainment and HDTV tiers of service should continue to slow telco access line erosion.

 

The CTAM study also suggests the importance of targeting consumers who are moving. 

 

Movers are more likely than non-movers to buy an HDTV set (26 percent versus. 15 percent), a laptop (24 percent compared to 16 percent), and a video game system (23 percent versus seven percent); as well as subscribe to high-definition programming services (15 percent compared to eight percent) and DVR service (17 percent contrasted with seven percent).