Survey Finds DTV May Increase Consumers TV Viewing

For the first time ever, four major industries banded together in early March 1999 to focus on the business issues necessary to bring digital TV (DTV) to the American consumer. More than 300 people attended the fourth DTV Summit which was sponsored by the Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association (CEMA) in conjunction with the Association for Maximum Service Television (MSTV), the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), the National Cable Television Association (NCTA) and the Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association (SBCA). The one-day Summit on March 2 featured leaders from the consumer electronics, broadcast, cable, satellite and retail industries discussing their latest plans and strategies for the DTV transition. ""HDTV is here at last, and while this is a gradual transition the momentum is building. Consumers are buying their TVs from retailers, and manufacturers have introduced nearly 80 DTV products. Everyone is catching the digital TV fever,"" said Gary Shapiro, President of CEMA. ""Consumers marvel at HDTV's stunning picture and sound quality. Equally marvelous is that the conversion to DTV makes it possible for television stations to upgrade and transition the American public's free and universal, community-based television broadcast system into the new millennium,"" said Margita White, President, MSTV. ""Broadcasters are ahead of schedule in rolling out their digital facilities and now are increasingly turning their attention to providing the programming that will attract consumers,"" said Chuck Sherman, Executive Vice President Television, NAB.""The transition from analog to digital television promises to provide new value to consumers. Cable operators have invested $20 billion since 1996 to upgrade their facilities to deliver digital and HDTV programming, and we remain committed to providing cable customers with the programming they tell us they want. We are pleased cable networks like HBO and MSG are among the HDTV pioneers,"" said Decker Anstrom, President NCTA. ""We are excited by the cooperation of these four industries in striving to bring DTV to every American consumer and by the leadership CEMA has provided,"" noted Chuck Hewitt, President, SBCA. ""The direct-to-home industry has been delivering signals to satellite consumers since 1994 and is proud to be the first to deliver HDTV on a nationwide basis. We are committed to providing consumers with the superior digital television picture they have come to enjoy.""Todd Thibodeaux, Vice President and Senior Economist for CEMA Market Research, presented new DTV consumer research results. Several focus groups and a telephone survey were conducted by CEMA earlier this year. The survey research indicated that consumer awareness of DTV is on the rise, though many consumers remain confused about the differences between analog and digital television. Among consumers familiar with DTV, 1 in 5, representing 11 million households, said they visited a retailer in the past 12 months to see or ask about DTV. Of those familiar with the technology, nearly 60 percent said their next TV purchase will probably or definitely be a DTV. Focus group results reaffirmed that with DTV, seeing is believing. HDTV demonstrations exceeded consumer expectations. Focus group participants who expressed satisfaction with their current set changed their mind after seeing a HDTV demonstration. About half of the consumers surveyed expect DTV to increase their TV time and/or increase the attention given to TV. Most consumers said they expect the transition to HDTV to be a gradual process and many thought that prices would come down. Many compared the transition from analog to digital TV to the change from 8-track to cassette tape to CD. Others cited the falling prices of computers. Most expected to purchase a DTV in two to four years. Research results also demonstrated that the majority of consumers rate superior picture quality as the most likely reason to purchase a high-definition (HD) set. Among this segment, many with Internet access believed a DTV with web browsing capabilities was redundant. The other 50 percent of consumers were extremely interested in data streaming and multicasting. The segment was comprised of those who wish to consolidate and those who do not have a PC but desire Web-browsing capabilities. Generally, datacasting or surround sound were ranked second behind picture quality as reasons to buy a HDTV. Multicasting ranked last, perhaps because the concept was difficult for consumers to understand. A detailed report of the quantitative and qualitative research will be available later this month. To order the report, contact CEMA market research at mrdpubs@eia.org.