Study: 53 Percent of DVR Users Own HDTVs

By Swanni
Washington, D.C. (August 21, 2007) -- More than half of Digital Video Recorder users own High-Definition TVs, according to a new report from the Leichtman Research Group.

The number is significantly larger than the national average with high-def sets now in roughly 30 million U.S. homes.

Leichtman also says more than one in every five households in the U.S. now uses a DVR, up from one in every 13 households two years ago.

Bruce Leichtman, president of Leichtman Research, says the rising demand for HD DVRs, which allows viewers to record high-def programming, is helping to drive more DVR subscriptions.

"The number of U.S. households with DVRs has rapidly increased over the past few years. Fueled by a continued push from cable and (satellite) providers offering combination HD/DVR set-top boxes, (Leichtman) forecasts that the number of U.S. households with DVRs will grow to over 60 million by the end of 2011," he said.

However, Leichtman cautions that more DVR usage doesn't mean everyone will watch programs after they are recorded.

"The growth of DVRs does not mean that the era of live TV viewing has ended -- (Leichtman) estimates that 95 percent of all TV viewing in the U.S. is still of live TV," he said.

Here are the study's key findings:

* 53 percent of DVR owners say they own HDTVs
* 45 percent of DVR owners record five or fewer programs each week.
* 84 percent of DVR owners say the ability to skip commercials is "very important," but only eight percent say it's the greatest benefit of having a DVR.

The findings are based on a Leichtman survey of 1,300 households throughout the United States and are part of the company's new study, On-Demand TV 2007: A Nationwide Study on VOD and DVR.

Source: http://www.tvpredictions.com