34% of U.S. Households Have HDTV, Study Shows

There's at least one HDTV in 34 percent of households in the United States, according to the Leichtman Research Group (LRG).

HDTV 2008: Consumer Awareness, Interest and Ownership says the percentage of households with an HDTV has just about doubled over the past two years. iSuppli recently revealed that HDTV shipments surpassed SDTV for the first time and will grow to 241.2 million units worldwide by 2012.

"About 40 million U.S. households now have at least one HDTV set, and LRG forecasts that this number will double over the next four years," says Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for LRG.

"While more people than ever before have HDTV sets, educating consumers on HD programming remains an issue."

The study, which surveyed 1,302 households, says 22 percent of all households purchased a new TV in the past 12 months. It attributes the growth of HDTVs to "on-going consumer purchasing of TV sets coupled with a dwindling supply of lower-end non-HDTV sets being sold."

LRG says 33 percent of HDTV owners have more than one HD set and 25 percent will likely get another HDTV in the next year.

Related: Study Says HDTV Shipments Surpass SDTV for First Time