U.S. HDTV households top two-thirds, says Leichtman Research Group

By TVTechnology
published

Sixty-nine percent of U.S. households have at least one HD television set, up from 17 percent in 2006, according to new research from Leichtman Research Group (LRG). Over the past five years, 52 percent of U.S. households adopted HDTV.

According to the research, 48 percent of HDTV households have more than one HDTV. Overall, about one-third of all U.S. households now have multiple HDTV sets, up from about one-sixth of all households two years ago, and 4 percent five years ago. Yet, about 45 percent of TV sets in HD households, and close to 60 percent of all TV sets in the United States, are not HDTVs.

These findings are based on a survey of 1302 households throughout the United States, and are part of a new LRG study, "HDTV and 3D TV 2011," the company's ninth annual study related to HDTV. Among the other findings:

  • 85 percent with annual household incomes greater than $75,000 have an HDTV compared to 67 percent with annual household incomes of $30,000 to $75,000, and 48 percent with annual household incomes under $30,000;
  • Mean reported spending on an HDTV set was about $940, 23 percent less than two years ago, and about half the reported spending five years ago;
  • Among those getting HD programming from a cable, satellite or telco TV provider, the perceived mean number of channels of HD programming is 75, up from 53 two years ago, and 28 five years ago;
  • Less than 3 percent of all U.S. households currently have an HDTV set that is 3-D-capable, and 45 percent of this group do not watch any content in 3-D;
  • Nearly 80 percent of adults in the country have heard of 3-D TV; of those, 5 percent are very interested in getting a 3-D TV;
  • 21 percent of all households purchased a new TV set in the past 12 months, and 19 percent of all households plan to purchase a new TV set in the next 12 months.

The findings are based on a telephone survey of 1302 adults 18 years of age and older throughout the continental United States that was conducted in November 2011. The random sample of respondents was distributed and weighted to best reflect the demographic and geographic make-up of the country. The overall sample has a statistical margin of error of +/- 2.7 percent.

TVTechnology