Nielsen Wire » high-definition TV http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire Consumer Insights, News, Research & Reports Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:19:47 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 en hourly 1 In U.S., Hi-Def TV Household Penetration Tops 23% http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/media_entertainment/in-us-hi-def-tv-penetration-tops-23/ http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/media_entertainment/in-us-hi-def-tv-penetration-tops-23/#comments Thu, 11 Dec 2008 14:06:20 +0000 admin http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/?p=5590 Almost one-quarter of all U.S. television households (23.3%) own a high definition TV set as of Nov. 30, Nielsen reported Thursday.

Nielsen’s estimates are based on a field staff review that identified TV sets capable of receiving and displaying high definition pictures, as well as those that are actually receiving those signals.

High definition TV penetration in the U.S. has more than doubled since July 2007, when Nielsen began tracking HDTV status.  At that time, only 10% of U.S. homes had access to high definition TV.

Month/Year % of U.S. Households
With HDTV
November 2008 23.3%
October 2008 22.2%
September 2008 21.3%
August 2008 20.4%
July 2008 19.6%
June 2008 18.9%
May 2008 18.1%
April 2008 17.1%
March 2008 16.2%
February 2008 15.3%
January 2008 14.5%
December 2007 13.5%
November 2007 12.8%
October 2007 12.1%
September 2007 11.3%
August 2007 10.5%
July 2007 10.0%
Source: The Nielsen Company (July 1, 2007 – November 30, 2008).

Washington, D.C., where 31.1% of homes are HDTV-enabled, has the highest HDTV penetration of Nielsen’s 18 largest local TV markets.  Boston and New York follow, with HDTV penetrations of 30.5% and 30.2%, respectively.  Detroit has the lowest HDTV penetration: 20.9% of homes.

Top 18
Nielsen Local TV
Markets		 % Households In Market
With HDTV
(November 2008)
Washington, DC (Hagerstown) 31.1%
Boston (Manchester) 30.5%
New York 30.2%
Seattle-Tacoma 29.8%
Philadelphia 29.1%
Los Angeles 28.9%
Chicago 27.0%
Phoenix 26.9%
San Francisco-Oak-San Jose 26.8%
Tampa-St. Pete (Sarasota) 26.7%
Denver 26.4%
Atlanta 25.7%
Dallas-Ft. Worth 25.0%
Houston 23.7%
Cleveland – Akron 23.6%
Minneapolis – St. Paul 21.6%
Miami-Ft. Lauderdale 21.4%
Detroit 20.9%
Total U.S. 23.3%
Source: The Nielsen Company (November 30, 2008).

Sporting events have the highest index of viewing in HDTV households, with HDTV receivable and capable homes watching 54% more sports than households that are not HDTV capable.  Political programming and awards shows are also popular with HDTV households.

View the full press release.

Read coverage of Nielsen’s findings on Contentinople.com and in Broadcasting & Cable, Multichannel News, and Media Post,

]]> http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/media_entertainment/in-us-hi-def-tv-penetration-tops-23/feed/ 6 2008: A Record-Breaking Year Of Sports Viewing http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/online_mobile/2008-a-record-breaking-year-of-sports-viewing/ http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/online_mobile/2008-a-record-breaking-year-of-sports-viewing/#comments Thu, 04 Dec 2008 19:09:27 +0000 admin http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/?p=5301 Was 2008 the best sports year ever?  At least in terms of viewer interest, there’s plenty of evidence to support that argument.  Consider these TV sports highlights from 2008:

-The most-watched global event ever (2008 Beijing Summer Olympics: 4.7 billion viewers)

-The most-watched Super Bowl ever (Giants-Patriots, Super Bowl XLII: 97.5 million viewers)

-The most-watched cable broadcast of all time (Cowboys-Eagles, Monday Night Football: 18.6 million viewers)

-The most-watched cable golf event of all time (Tiger vs. Rocco, U.S. Open Playoff: 4.8 million viewers)

-The most-watched cable baseball game ever (Red Sox-Rays, ALCS Game 7: 13.4 million viewers)

-The most-watched NBA Finals in five years (Celtics-Lakers, NBA Championship Series average: 14.9 million viewers)

-The most-watched NHL regular season game in nine years; most-watched finals in five years (Winter Classic: 2.5 million viewers; Stanley Cup, Penguins–Red Wings average: 4.5 million viewers)

-The most-watched Wimbledon final in eight years (Federer-Nadal: 5.2 million viewers)

The surge in viewership could be attributed to the dramatic storylines behind these games and events, but Nielsen’s analysis shows that new technology is enhancing the sports fan’s experience:

-Ratings for sports events are 20% higher in homes with high-definition TV sets vs. total U.S.

-75 million people visited sports websites in October 2008

-11.6 million unique users logged more than 1.2 billion minutes on fantasy sports sites in 2008

-10.6 million U.S. mobile subscribers accessed sports content via the mobile Web in August 2008

View the full report.

Read coverage of Nielsen’s findings in USA Today.

Take our poll.

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