Penetration of high definition televisions will be four times greater in Europe than industry forecasts have previously predicted, Sony said yesterday.
Chris Deering, European president of Sony said that by 2008, 20 million European households will have high definition television (HDTV). Sony’s prediction sees Europe following the trend of Japan and the US in consumers increasing demand for new HD sets and programming.
Sony’s forecast prediction far exceeds that of industry forecasts by London based research company Datamonitor, in August of this year, who claimed that just 4.6 million European households would have HDTV by 2008 (see Consumer Confusion Slows HDTV Success In Europe).
European broadcasters have previously been dissuaded by the increased cost of programming HD and consumers have been put off by expensive televisions. However, prices for HDTVs have fallen by about 25% to about £2,000 over the past two years, which could account for their growing popularity. Mr Deering said that this trend would continue to move towards “mass market affordability.” The new technology provides viewers with more vivid, high resolution images and enhanced sound quality than traditional television.
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