Nielsen Study Shows DVD Players Surpass VCRs

NEW YORK, Dec. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Nielsen Media Research released findings today from its 3rd Quarter Home Technology Report which show that 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.

"This study shows the culmination of a long battle for share of consumers," said Paul Lindstrom, senior vice president of custom research for Nielsen Media Research. "Nielsen clients have used information from our Home Tech Report for the past decade to trend the changes in penetration and report use of new devices as they infiltrate the marketplace, and we now see that the popularity of DVDs has finally surpassed that of VCRs."

  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.

For charts that illustrate the five-year penetration trends, please see: http://everyonecounts.tv/documents/HTRchart2002-06.pdf .

Methodology

Nielsen's Home Technology Report is a primary research survey conducted by phone with 1,253 randomly selected American homes four times per year. Issued quarterly to Nielsen clients as a supplement to their syndicated TV ratings service, for the past 10 years the Home Tech Report has been Nielsen's gauge of the penetration and usage of technology into American households.

About Nielsen Media Research

Nielsen Media Research is the leading provider of television audience measurement and related services, worldwide. In the United States, Nielsen's National People Meter service provides audience estimates for all national program sources, including broadcast networks, cable networks, Spanish language networks, and national syndicators. Local ratings estimates are produced for television stations, regional cable networks, MSOs, cable interconnects, and Spanish language stations in each of the 210 television markets in the U.S., including People Meter service in ten markets and electronic set-metered service in 46 markets. For more information, please visit http://www.nielsenmedia.com/.

Nielsen Media Research is a unit of VNU, a global information and media company with leading market positions and recognized brands in marketing information (ACNielsen), media information (Nielsen Media Research), business publications (Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Computing, Intermediair) and trade shows. The privately held company is active in more than 100 countries, with headquarters in Haarlem, the Netherlands, and New York, USA. For more information, visit http://www.vnu.com/.

               Table 1: DVD vs. VCR Penetration in the U.S.


                          3Q     2Q     1Q     4Q     3Q     2Q     1Q
                         2006   2006   2006   2005   2005   2005   2005

  % of Homes with DVDs  81.2%   80.9%  81.4%  80.8%  76.5%  77.6%  78.5%
  % of Homes with VCRs  79.2%   82.3%  82.3%  82.9%  82.9%  80.9%  82.2%

         Source:  Nielsen Media Research's Home Technology Report



           Table 2: Penetration of Media Devices in U.S. Homes

                  3Q 02   3Q 03   3Q 04   3Q 05   3Q 06  % Diff 05
                                                            vs 06

  DVD             41.4%   59.8%   71.2%   76.5%   81.2%     +6.1%
  VCR             87.5%   86.7%   84.7%   82.9%   79.2%     -4.5%
  Wired Cable     65.9%   62.7%   65.2%   62.2%   63.5%     +2.1%
  Satellite       20.9%   22.3%   22.2%   26.0%   26.5%     +1.9%
  Internet Access 61.4%   63.9%   64.4%   68.1%   68.5%     +.06%
  PC              66.4%   69.5%   71.7%   74.0%   73.4%     -.08%
  Cell Phone      65.0%   67.1%   72.0%   73.8%   75.2%     +1.9%
  PDA             13.9%   15.7%   16.4%   16.3%   16.4%     +.06%
  MP3 Player       7.6%   10.7%   12.8%   16.9%   26.7%      +58%

         Source:  Nielsen Media Research's Home Technology Report