DIAL LOG

HDTV Interest and Content On the Rise

Two interesting bits of HDTV (high definition television) news today:

First, eMarketer summarizes a study by Yankee Group that shows 78% of consumers are aware of HDTV, 20% plan to purchase HDTV sets and predicts the installed base of HDTVs will be nearly 60 million by 2008.

Second, while the major television networks are dramatically scaling back coverage of the upcoming political conventions, Lost Remote reports that HDNet, co-founded by Mark Cuban, will provide more extended coverage of the conventions to its subscribers as well as make “the gavel-to-gavel national high-definition feed of the conventions available to MSOs and satellite providers who wish to provide the telecast to their subscriber base.”

As the price of HDTV sets goes down and the quantity of programming goes up, this will continue be an interesting evolution to watch develop.