New CEA Research Shows Overwhelming Support For DTV, Great Desire For More Content

31-Jul-01

More than 95 percent of digital television (DTV) owners would purchase a DTV set again, according to new consumer research presented to conference attendees at the Consumer Electronics Association's (CEA) DTV Summit, ""Is Laissez-Faire Fair?"" in Washington, D.C. In addition to the latest consumer and market research, conference participants heard from keynote speakers Senator Conrad Burns (R-Montana) and newly appointed MSTV, Inc. President David Donovan, and panelists representing consumer electronics manufacturers, broadcasters, the cable industry and other leaders in the DTV transition.""The rollout of DTV has already outpaced that of color TV,"" noted Gary Shapiro, President and CEO of CEA, in his opening remarks. ""In fact, this year alone we expect to sell more than one million units representing over $2 billion in sales, a milestone that historically has marked the beginnings of a true mass-market product."" In the morning keynote at the DTV Summit, Senator Conrad Burns noted that prices for DTV products have dropped by more than 40 percent since 1998. He also suggested that Congress would be forced to act on cable carriage if the cable industry does not respond to market forces and agree to carry HDTV. Following the senator's remarks, CEA's Vice President of market research Todd Thibodeaux presented the DTV consumer survey results with Senior Analyst Sean Wargo. Section one of the report revealed consumer perspectives of DTV; section two pertained to DTV owner satisfaction. According to the report, the two most important factors for consumers who have considered buying a DTV are having the programs they watch most often available in high-definition format and being able to get high-definition programming through cable or satellite providers. Content and content delivery became the themes of the DTV Summit as the panels discussed the hurdles to be overcome in the ongoing DTV transition. As FCC Plans & Policy Chief, Dr. Robert Pepper, said during his panel, ""What's the rush for broadcasters? The rush is for the survival of your business.""Neal Goldberg, National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA) General Counsel, pointed to the lack of compelling content as the reason for cable's resistance to carrying HDTV. Other panelists agreed that more content is needed, but held that cable carriage would greatly accelerate the transition and pointed to the leadership of CBS in providing HDTV programming. In the final panel, ""Success Stories - Current and Future,"" Tom Hayden of Showtime Networks pointed to his network's swift progress in producing more high-definition content. Jim Goodman of CBS affiliate WRAL in Raleigh, North Carolina also spoke about his station's continued creation and carriage of substantial HDTV programming. When asked why his station is one of too few HDTV content carriers, Goodman pointed to cable's refusal to carry the programming and to the cost of switching from analog to digital, although he did note how dramatically that cost has dropped over the past few years. A transcript of the DTV Summit is available at www.ce.org/dtv. CEA's research report, ""Updating Perspectives on the Digital TV Transition: General Consumer and Owner Surveys,"" is available through the CEA Market Research Department at 703 907 7600. To subscribe to CEA's monthly DTV sales report, contact the CEA Customer Service department at the same number or visit www.eBrain.org/MARA.For more information about the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), visit www.CE.org.

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