US - Cable Passes Satellite For DVR Popularity

Other Survey Trends Target Advertisers, Women; Industry Projections Show 46 % of U.S. TV Households Become DVR Users By 2010

Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA — Digital Video Recorders (DVRs) installed into cable-served TV households (TVHHs) have recently surpassed the number of those in satellite-served video HHs, according to a new set of projections and estimates released by The Carmel Group. Part of an annual DVR study entitled, “Digital Video Recorders 2007: Time In A Magical Box,” the work also includes a nationwide survey of nearly 2,200 U.S. DVR users and non-users, focused on their likes and dislikes when it comes to DVRs and related digital services.

The Carmel Group study projects that nearly half of all U.S. TV homes will be equipped with a DVR system by 2010. Presently, The Carmel Group estimates nearly 26 million U.S. DVR users. In addition to the cable industry DVR resurgence, three key trends are particularly worth noting from the study. First, is the receptivity of subscribers, especially women, to relevant and interactive ads. Second, is the indication that DVR-Users tend to be early adopters of bundled multichannel services. Third is that privacy concerns are limited among DVR-Users. This data supports advertisers moving toward relevant, interactive and pin-pointed advertising, especially if they can ally with technologists capable of matching the specialized ad to the individual, wherever and whenever. On a related note, more than half of our survey’s DVR-Users would be receptive to searching for ads, in an interactive sense, related to the products and services they are interested in buying.

The cable TV industry passed the satellite industry in 2006, and now claims the majority of DVR users at 56%, followed by satellite at 38%, the telcos at 1%, and standalone providers, such as Tivo, at 4%. For cumulative DVR revenues, the industry has generated more than $13 bil. Since 1999. By 2008, the study projects the top four manufacturers in the DVR industry will be Scientific Atlanta [SFA], Motorola [MOT], EchoStar’s DISH Network [DISH], and TiVo [TIVO], and. The top operators installing DVRs today are, in order, Comcast, DirecTV, EchoStar and Time Warner.

The Carmel Group’s consumer survey focuses on the effects of DVRs on women and advertisers. An additional part of the survey looks at the consumer demand for related digital services, such as broadband, HDTV and the local delivery of TV stations.