HDTV ownership and available content not in line

High Definition television has continued to grow in popularity across the world, but there is a significant growth rate primarily among United States and Japan households.

According to a report by In-Stat, the number of households in the United States alone that have HDTV and receive HD programming grew by about 40% in 2008.

However, the actual growth rate is suspected to be larger, since out of 39 million homes with HDTV sets, only 22 million actually receive HDTV from their cable or satellite providers.

The United States shows the largest distinction in homes that are equipped with HDTV sets and those that receive HDTV channels, although it is no longer uncommon to read about providers adding HDTV channels to their services.

In fact, most consumers are unaware that every week more HDTV channels are added to area cable and satellite consumers across the United States and Japan as well as slowly across the world.

Worldwide, there are now seven million more HDTV households which are defined as those that have an HDTV set and receive HDTV programming.

The same stats show that while HDTV is growing in Europe, it will take until 2011 at the current growth rate for European households to reach the ten million mark.