According to Kagan Research, more than 21 mln HDTV sets had been sold to consumers at year-end 2005, and at year-end 2006 penetration of HD sets into TV households is expected to reach nearly 30%. MSOs will continue to be put under pressure to add more HD networks. The two major DBS operators, DIRECTV & EchoStar, have added subscribers at an impressive pace and Kagan estimates that at year-end 2006 DBS subscribers will total $29.4 mln, a full 30.3% of the multichannel universe, and forecasts growth of 2.6%/year, reaching 34.2 mil. in 2011.
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High-definition TV subscribers in the USA |
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| 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | |
| DBS | 27.4 | 29.4 | 31 | 32.3 | 33.2 | 33.7 | 34.2 |
| Cable | 65.4 | 65.6 | 65.9 | 66.3 | 66.8 | 67.4 | 68.1 |
| Telco/Other | 0.2 | 0.8 | 1.8 | 3.2 | 4.4 | 5.5 | 6.5 |
| Total Multichannel | 93 | 95.8 | 98.7 | 101.8 | 104.4 | 106.6 | 108.7 |
| Source: Kagan Research | |||||||