An industry research has revealed that over half of the world’s households have now switched their televisions to digital.
According to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the world is witnessing a massive shift from analogue to digital television, with over 55% of households with a TV now receiving a digital signal compared with just 30% in 2008.
The ITU published this new data in its flagship annual Measuring the Information Society 2013 report released November 21, 2013 to mark the UN World Television Day.
The report indicated that globally, the halfway mark for digital penetration was passed in 2012. “In the developed world, an estimated 81% of total households with a TV now receive a digital signal,” the UN agency said.
In developing world, the ITU observed that the number of households receiving digital TV almost tripled in the four-year period from 2008 to end 2012, reaching 42%.
“Digital TV continues to evolve into a highly valuable platform for the delivery of all kinds of services, like educational programming for distance learning,” said Brahima Sanou, Director of the ITU’s Telecommunication Development Bureau.
The number of pay-TV subscriptions worldwide increased by 32% between 2008 and 2012, overtaking free-to-air TV in 2011, the report said.
It also showed that there were a total of 728 million pay-TV subscriptions by end 2012, meaning that 53% of all households with a television had a pay-TV subscription.
Globally, the ITU figures showed that there were an estimated 1.4 billion households with at least one TV set by end 2012.
By Ekow Quandzie