• by Joe Mandese , September 12, 2007

Access to high-definition television (HDTV) appears to have a profound impact on how people watch TV, but not necessarily on how, or whether they watch TV advertising. In new research being released today as part of its ongoing Home Technology Monitor, Knowledge Networks/SRI found that while HDTV subscribers find ads in HDTV "more relevant" than low resolution TV spots, they are not any more likely to watch them. In fact, they may be more likely to tune away.

Eighty-eight percent of HDTV viewers say they typically change channels or ignore TV ads when they come on vs. 80% of non-HDTV viewers, Knowledge Networks found.

"The actions break down into switching channels, doing something else while ads are on, or leaving the room while ads are on," said Dave Tice vice president of client service at Knowledge Networks/SRI and director of The Home Technology Monitor.

"For advertisers, the challenge is to take advantage of this program preference in a way that is truly worthwhile; and for consumer electronics businesses or television service providers, there is still a need to address barriers perceived by consumers."

While Knowledge Networks did not explicitly measure how HDTV homes utilize digital video recorders to avoid TV commercials, Tice noted that HDTV households have much greater penetration of the devices. "In this study, 51% of homes with an HDTV set and HDTV service reported having a DVR - 12% a regular DVR and 39% had at least one HDTV DVR. This compared to 18% of non-HD homes that had a DVR," he said.

That finding is significant, because HDTV homes are more likely to time-shift programming than non-HDTV homes. About 70% of HDTV viewers said they plan their viewing ahead of time, compared with just over half of viewers in non-HDTV households.