One-third of U.S. households now own HDTVs

Thirty-four percent of U.S. households now have at least one HDTV set — nearly double the percentage of households with an HD set two years ago, according to a new report from Leichtman Research Group.

The report, “HDTV 2008: Consumer Awareness, Interest and Ownership,” identifies ongoing consumer TV set purchases and a dwindling supply of lower-end non-HDTV sets for sale as driving the growth in HDTV households. Overall, 22 percent of all households purchased a new TV set in the past 12 months. Forty-three percent of this group spent more than $1000 on a new TV.

Other findings include:

  • Thirty-eight percent of HD owners said replacing an old/broken set or wanting to buy a new TV set was the most important reason for getting their HDTV compared to 22 percent that cited picture quality and 7 percent citing the quality of HD programming or the number of HD channels.
  • Forty-four percent with annual household incomes more than $50,000 have an HDTV compared to 20 percent with annual household incomes less than $50,000.
  • Thirty-three percent of HDTV owners have more than one HDTV set, and 25 percent are likely to get another HDTV set in the next year.
  • Nine percent of HD owners say that they switched multichannel video providers when they purchased their HDTV.

The findings are based on a survey of 1302 U.S. households conducted in October.

For more information, visit www.LeichtmanResearch.com.