UK to be number three in HD set penetration in five years

Some 94% of UK households will have a TV set capable of receiving HD programming by 2016, according to Informa Telecoms & Media.

Expected UK HD TV set penetration puts the UK in third place globally behind Canada and New Zealand, each with 95%. UK HD TV set penetration for this year is estimated at 81%.

About 72% of UK HD-ready homes are expected to be watching HD programming by 2016, up from 38% in 2011, against a global average of 70%, up from 45% this year.

The gap between HD set penetration and viewing in the UK is expected to be greater than in some other markets because of the popularity of digital-terrestrial service Freeview, which is forecast to have only around half of its users watching HD programming by 2016.