A SIGNIFICANT UPSELL opportunity remains for Canadian TV distributors as new research confirms many Canadian high definition television set owners don’t have the required equipment to pull in an external HDTV signal (at least from specialty channels).
According to research done for the Canadian chapter of the Cable Television Association for Marketing (CTAM) 58% of Canadians now say they own an HDTV set (up from 44% in 2010), but ownership of a high definition set top box lags significantly behind at 26% (up from 19% in 2010). “These results point to a significant up-sell opportunity for cable service providers that has yet to be fully exploited,” reads the research, from the chapter’s “In Touch” October 2011 report.
Simply, confusion remains among consumers who just don’t realize they need a set top box to receive high definition programming from specialty channels and carriers still need to do some education. However, many, surely, are pulling in some HD signals off-air, from conventional broadcasters.
Reported viewing time of HD programming rose slightly from 64% in 2010 to 66% in 2011, with movies surpassing sports for the first time as the type of content providing the best HD viewing experience. Movies jumped seven points to 33% while sports dropped nine points to 30% saying that.
Respondents also said access to HD VOD was important to them (65%) and sales in HD sets also look to be strong. Forty-four percent of those surveyed said they intend to buy an HDTV set (up from 34% in 2010) with 18% saying they will buy one in the next six months.
The data in this study, done for CTAM Canada by Charlton Strategic Research, was obtained through an online survey of 2,098 Canadians between June 23 and July 6, 2011. Total results are considered accurate within +/- 2.2%.
For more information and more on this report, you’ll have to join CTAM Canada, which you can do at CTAM.ca.
– Greg O’Brien
