A recent Nielson study shows DVD players surpass VCRs. More U.S, households now own DVD players (81.2% of all households) than VCRs (79.2% of households). Findings from this quarterly study also show ownership of most media technology trending up from previous years, which could continue to climb as the upcoming Christmas season approaches.
As of third quarter 2006, DVD penetration in the U.S. is up 6% from the previous year and continues to grow, while VCR penetration has started a decline. In 1999 when Nielsen first started tracking DVD ownership in its Home Tech Report, DVD penetration was only 6.7% and was dwarfed by VCR ownership at 88.6%.
Nielsen's latest report also found that DVD households now rent DVDs about twice per month, compared to VCR homes renting VHS tapes only about once per month. The frequency with which households rent video tapes has leveled off during the past six months.
Some additional topline findings from Nielsen's Home Tech study include:
* Computers -- 73.4% of U.S. homes currently have a computer in the
household, and homes with children and teens are more likely to have a
home computer. There is a large difference in the percentage of lower
income homes vs. higher income homes that own a home computer. Homes
with an income over $60K are 50% more likely to own a home computer than
homes with an income below $60K.
* Internet -- 95.4% of consumers with Internet access go online at least
once a week, and 37.3% of Internet users go online more than once a day.
78.2% of online users have made purchases over the Internet. 46.8% of
online users (ages 12+) have used the Internet to download and play
music from the Internet.
* MP3 Players -- 26.7% of U.S. homes own or rent an MP3 player.
Households with the presence of children 12-17 years of age are nearly
2-1/2 times more likely to own or rent an MP3 player than compared to
the Total U.S. The percentage of homes owning an MP3 player has risen by
149.5% since 3rd Quarter 2003.
* PDA -- 16.4% of U.S. homes own a PDA, and since 3rd quarter 2003, PDA
ownership has increased by 4.5%. Not surprisingly, higher income homes
are more than four times as likely as lower income homes to own a PDA.
Web site: http://www.nielsenmedia.com/
