HDTV ownership jumped 73% in past year

PHYSICAL: TV upgrade helps fuel growth in Blu-ray spending

By Danny King -- Video Business, 5/26/2009

MAY 26 | PHYSICAL: High-definition television ownership in the U.S. jumped 73% in the past year, reflecting falling prices and the upcoming switch to all-digital broadcasts. The leap also fueled growth in spending on Blu-ray Disc players and software, Nielsen reported last week.

About a third of U.S. households owned at least one HDTV in February, up from 19.3% a year earlier, according to Nielsen. The number of homes with HDTVs has jumped about 14% since November, indicating that many consumers bought an HDTV for the holidays, Nielsen said.

The higher number of HDTV households has helped boost Blu-ray disc spending as overall home entertainment sales have fallen. First-quarter U.S. DVD spending fell 15% from a year earlier, but Blu-ray spending doubled to about $230 million, according to Video Business data.

Meanwhile, the number of Blu-ray players sold in the first quarter jumped 72% from a year earlier because of more HDTVs in households and falling prices, NPD Group said earlier this month.

In addition to declining TV prices, the upcoming U.S. switch to all-digital broadcasts from analog also has helped HDTV sales. Originally slated for Feb. 17, the switch to digital signals from U.S. broadcasters will take place on June 12.

"Despite the current economic climate, HD is on course to becoming the benchmark in television viewing," Nielsen said. "As prices of HDTVs continue to fall and circumstances such as the Digital Television Transition create opportunities to further promote HD sets and services, HDTV will gain a greater foothold in U.S. television homes."

Additionally, HDTVs were about 40% more likely to be connected to a DVD player and three times as likely to be connected to a digital video recorder, said Nielsen, which didn't break out Blu-ray figures.

Susanne Ault contributed