HD in 20 million homes

[BGonaSTICK]

The number of households worldwide watching high-definition TV programming is set to eclipse 20 million by the end of the year – a rise of five million in just six months – primarily driven by growth in the US and Japan.

At the 2006 mid-way mark, 15 million homes were tuning into HD, but this figure is set to hit 20.3 million by year-end, according to a new report from market research firm In-Stat.

The US and Japan have the greatest HDTV penetration, accounting for 91% of the global market, but even in the US only a third of households with HD-capable TV sets are actually using them to watch HD programming.

Meanwhile, HDTV is becoming available in countries like China, Singapore and Mexico. Significant growth is also being seen in countries including Canada, Australia and South Korea, with Europe expected to provide a major spike in uptake over the next few years. In-Stat believes that this will trigger a rise to 55 million HDTV households globally by the end of 2009.