Worldwide HDTV Penetration On the Rise

FARMINGTON: HDTV penetration is increasing worldwide, due to a drop in equipment pricing and the availability of more channel options, says a new research report from Informa Telecoms & Media.

According to the Global HDTV Forecasts to 2016: 6th edition, just 3 percent of the world’s TV households had HDTV sets in 2005. Some 34 million active HD households are expected to be added in 2011, bringing the total to 131 million. This number is expected to more than triple again by 2016.

North America is currently the leader, accounting for two-thirds of 2010 HDTV totals. This proportion is expected to fall though in the future, as other regions catch up. The Asia Pacific is the third-largest region, largely attributed to early adoption in Japan.

Informa attributes these gains to the fact that equipment prices have fallen to affordable levels. Also, the number of channels on offer has become attractive to a mass audience. Some operators are even offering HD channels for free to subscribers within other packages. This raises the prospect of another round of "switchovers," with HD becoming the standard and a new "UltraHD" emerging to serve as an enhancement to it.