HDTV in 44 million homes by 2009

A new report from Informa Telecoms & Media forecasts that 44 million homes around the world will have high-definition television by the end of 2008, representing 4% of worldwide households.

This is a significant rise from the end of 2007 when only 2% of households watched HD television.

The growth is partly attributed to a fall in the cost of HDTVs and set top boxes over the past two years.

Global HD uptake is expected to continue to rise, helped by the launch of HD services by free-to-air broadcasters.

Nearly 180 million households are forecast to be watching HD programming by 2012, representing around 16% of TV households around the world.

HD has been particularly popular in North America where standard television provides relatively poor picture and audio quality.

By 2012, Informa expects to see 179 million active HD homes, or about 16% of TV households worldwide.

However, global distribution will be very uneven, with Canada and the US expected to have over 70% penetration by 2012, Japan 58%, Korea 39% and all other countries below 30%.

Informa Telecoms & Media’s report is called Global HDTV Forecasts 3rd Edition.