• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, May 13, 2005

Following the release of two studies pointing to an acceleration in the acceptance of digital media technologies by consumers, the head of a leading consumer electronics trade group Thursday called on the industry and the government to move forward with a firm cut off date for analog television broadcasting. He also urged broadcasters to embrace digital and wean themselves off analog before it is too late. "The question of who will be disenfranchised and not receive a TV signal after the cut-off has been a major concern for all involved in the transition," Gary Shapiro, president-CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association, said during the annual meeting of the Advanced Television Systems Committee.

"Recent figures from CEA show the percentage of American homes that rely solely on an [over the air TV] signal is low and shrinking," he pointed out. "Currently, 87 percent of homes have access to cable or satellite and more pipelines capable of carrying video programming - including fiber optic lines, digital subscriber lines (DSL), telephone lines and power lines - are moving into American homes, jeopardizing the monopoly long enjoyed by broadcasters. The choices are many and great for consumers."

Shapiro's address came as congressional, Federal Communications Commission and industry officials debate how to define the end of the nation's transition to digital television, and as legislation is expected that would set a mandatory cut off date for analog broadcast.

Despite this imminent threat to conventional broadcasting, Shapiro said few broadcasters have embraced the move to digital TV, or have begun to exploit it as a marketing opportunity.

He revealed stats showing strong consumer acceptance of digital and high-definition television, citing that more than 17 million digital TV units have been sold since introduction, and that 86 percent of products sold are capable of displaying or receiving a high definition signal.

Separately, the CEA released findings of a new Audio Consumption Study indicating that consumption of audio media content is growing, thanks to a variety of new consumer electronics, especially online audio downloading, DVDs, CDs and home theaters.

The study found that the leading source of audio consumption, not surprisingly, is music. More than 90 percent of online adults said they have listened to music in the past year.

Movies, television, news and weather also proved to be important content sources. Almost half of the online adults surveyed revealed that they most frequently listen to audio content in the home.

The findings "demonstrate that consumers have not lost their appetite for audio as part of their daily content diet. If anything, audio consumption is on the rise, and that means increased opportunity for the industry and for consumers," said Sean Wargo, director of market research at CEA.