A study by market research firm In-Stat (News - Alert) projects consumer revenue from HDTV content in the Asia/Pacific region to grow from $3.2 billion in 2006 to $8.06 billion by 2012, despite a number of barriers against its widespread delivery in the region.
The study, titled "HDTV Content Development in Asia Pacific: The Achievable Dream” projects the number of household opting for HDTV programming will significantly expand the next three years. In 2006, more than 9.9 million TV households in Singapore, China, Australia, South Korea, and Japan received HDTV programming.
In 2012, HDTV households in the region will reach 42.1 million, according to the study. To date, Japan is the biggest segment in the region, with more than 8.5 million household watching and receiving HD services.
In a statement, In-Stat analyst Alice Zhang said, "HDTV content availability remains limited in the region, with only five countries offering the service beyond an experimental basis. Besides Japan and Australia, which are mainly broadcasting self-developed content, there is a significant amount of content being broadcasted by China, Korea, and Singapore from international content providers."
The study said the governments in the various Asian countries would play a crucial role in facilitating the shift from analog to digital in the free-to-air services domain to fast track HDTV content development.
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Leo Blanco is a contributing writer for TMCnet. To see more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.