• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, May 19, 2008

Research conducted by Scripps Networks based on set-top box data shows that networks still have a ways to go to turn viewers on to their high-definition feeds. While Scripps did not release specifics, the cable programmer said "large numbers" of viewers receiving HD feeds continue to watch the same simulcast content in standard definition.

The findings come as networks are increasingly plugging their HD offerings--with some, like ESPN, going so far as to make "HD" a near-constant presence in their logos. The efforts are partly rooted in the belief that HD content is more compelling, and people hooked on it will watch more TV.

Scripps suggested that one reason many viewers with HD continue to watch a traditional feed (as with Food Network) is because cable operators bundle their HD channels high up on the dial, possibly rendering them out-of-sight, out-of-mind. In Manhattan, for example, Food Network is channel 50 on Time Warner Cable, with the simulcast Food Network HD at channel 750. (Scripps operates Food Network HD and HGTV HD.)

Unlike cable operators, Scripps said that DirecTV gives an HD and SD feed the same channel number--and the interactive program guide can be set to automatically display the HD feed.

Robin Garfield, vice president of sales research and strategy for Scripps Networks, said the research "suggest(s) that viewers used to navigating lower channel numbers continue to do so despite the presence of high-definition programming."

Still, Nielsen figures released last fall suggest that the majority of people who receiving HD channels are aware they get them. The figures show some 15.5 million U.S. homes have TVs capable of receiving HD programming; some 12.7 million have signed up to receive them.

Nielsen does not break out ratings for HD simulcast feeds; viewership of the SD and HD feeds are aggregated to yield a single rating.

The Scripps' research comes from an analysis of TNS set-top box data from some 300,000 Charter cable homes in Los Angeles. Despite the limited sample size, Scripps said it found the data to be stable and useful for determining tuning behavior.

Still, Nielsen figures show that some 17.1% of homes in the Los Angeles market receive HD channels (second behind New York), which is well above the 11.3% of homes nationally. Scripps did not say how many of the 300,000 Charter homes receive HD feeds.

A similar TNS set-top box data product covering DirecTV viewers may soon allow researchers to gauge whether there are different HD viewing patterns among satellite versus cable subscribers.

One sign of how difficult it may be to find reliable data in the HD space: Scripps says both Food Network HD and HGTV HD are in more than 25 million homes, while Nielsen reports that only 12.7 million U.S. homes receive HD channels.