13 Aug 2003 | The Media Leader Staff

INSIGHTanalysis: Digital TV To Reach 50% Of US Homes By 2005

Digital television is set to reach half of all homes in the US by 2005, up from 40.6% this year, according to new forecasts from eMarketer.

The group predicts that there will be 56.5 million DTV households in two years time, of which 13.3 million (23.5%) will take video on-demand (VOD) services. Just over ten million homes will own a personal video recorder (PVR) and 9.6 million are expected to have high-definition television (HDTV) by 2005, says the report.

US Digital TV Household Forecasts (million)

	DTV Households	Total Households	Penetration
2002	38.9	108.5	35.9
2003	44.7	110.0	40.6
2004	50.1	111.5	44.9
2005	56.5	113.1	50.0
*Source: eMarketer, July 2003*

HDTV growth is expected to be strong over the next couple of years, with a compound annual rate of 128.7%. Separate forecasts by Leichtman Research Group predict that the US will have 33 million HDTV homes by 2007, suggesting a faster rate of take-up than eMarketer expects (see Forecasts).

TV Technology Uptake In US Households

Number Of Households (million)
	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	CAGR 2002-2006
Video on-demand (VOD)	1.9	6.0	9.6	13.3	16.3	71.1%
Personal video recorder (PVR)	1.8	3.6	6.8	10.4	15.3	70.8%
High definition television (HDTV)	0.6	2.2	5.0	9.6	16.4	128.7%
*Source: eMarketer, July 2003*

International uptake of DTV The UK currently leads the world in terms of digital TV penetration, with 44% of households already using the platform.

BSkyB has been hugely influential in this conversion from the traditonal analogue platform, with all of its 6.8 million customers receiving digital satellite (see BSkyB Results Beat Market Expectations As Subs Hit 6.8m). It is the only broadcaster in the world to have completely ceased any analogue broadcast.

The US is currently in second place, with 42% DTV penetration, despite having launched the platform far earlier than in the UK.