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JupiterResearch Forecasts Digital Video Recorders Will be in Nearly Half of All U.S. Households Within Five Years (29/7/2005)

JupiterResearch, a division of Jupitermedia Corporation (Nasdaq: JUPM), today released its annual digital television (DTV) forecast entitled, "U.S. DTV Forecast, 2005-2010," which presents JupiterResearch's latest projections of the growth of digital television, including HDTV, in U.S. households.

According to the JupiterResearch report, digital video recorders (DVRs) will grow from an installed base of 7 million households at the end of 2004 to 55 million by 2010. Though not yet as ubiquitous as the VCR or the DVD, DVRs will be in 47% of U.S. households in the next five years.

"While TV networks and their advertisers may get increasingly anxious about DVRs, some constituencies have another perspective. Pay TV operators will see the DVR playing an increasingly strategic role over the next two to three years," said Todd Chanko, DTV Analyst at JupiterResearch. "Cable multiple system operators (MSOs) appreciate the DVR as a key customer acquisition tool and revenue driver while the two satellite operators see ever-more-robust DVRs as their answer to video-on-demand. Both groups have stepped up their DVR marketing to increase consumer awareness," added Chanko.

The report also addresses the HDTV marketplace. JupiterResearch predicts that HDTV monitors will grow from an installed base of 13 million in 2004 to 74 million by 2010. However, JupiterResearch also estimates that less than 4 million HDTV households were receiving high-definition television service at the end of last year, a number that will grow to 69 million by 2010. "Television networks and pay-TV operators alike are unsure of consumer demand for HDTV," commented Chanko. "Behind closed doors the executives are still measuring the real costs to produce and distribute HDTV against the benefits. That's why there are only 26 hours of HDTV programming a day across seven broadcast networks - and almost half of those hours are supplied by PBS," added Chanko.

www.jupiterresearch.com