• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, June 12, 2003

HDTV Attracting A Wealthier Subset

New consumer research from Leichtman Research Group reveals that adoption of high-definition television (HDTV) sets in the US has risen to 4% and further growth will be driven by higher-income consumers spurred on by falling prices of the sets.

The research found that current HDTV owners have an average household income 73% above average, and those most likely to purchase an HDTV set in the next year have an average income 54% above average. LRG forecasts that the total number of HDTV-capable households in the US will grow to 33 million by the end of 2007.

HDTV Awareness, Ownership and Interest by Income*

	<$75,000	>$75,000
Have heard of HDTV	69%	89%
Have an HD-capable TV set	2%	12%
Very familiar with HDTV (but do not have an HDTV set)	6%	13%
Investigated getting an HDTV set in the past six months	4%	11%
Expect to spend over $1,000 on a new TV set in the next year	3%	7%

Source: Leichtman Research Group, Inc
* Based on stated annual household income. Percentages are within each group. Study is based on a telephone survey of 1,250 randomly selected households throughout the United States in areas where cable television is available

Other key findings include:

9% of DBS subscribers in areas where cable TV is available say that they currently own an HD-capable set, compared to 4% of cable subscribers

An additional 13% of DBS subscribers say that they are very familiar with HDTV, compared to 8% of cable subscribers

43% of those who have an HDTV set, or are very interested in getting an HDTV set in the next year, would be very likely to spend $9.95 per month for an HD programming package

26% of consumers who plan to purchase a TV set in the next year expect to spend over $1,000

"With over 275 million television sets in US households, it will be many years before HDTV sets become the norm," said Bruce Leichtman, president of Leichtman Research Group, Inc. "Yet with prices decreasing, purchasing an HDTV set is becoming a default for the high-end TV buyer rather than an active decision to get an HDTV set. This will result in the sale of millions of HDTV sets in the next few years."

More information available from www.LeichtmanResearch.com

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