A study by SNL Kagan estimates that there will be 71 million HD subscribers in the U.S. by 2012. This would represent two-thirds of TV households and a growth rate of 65%.
One-third of U.S. homes currently have HDTV. Since 2003, 74 HD networks have launched, which has encouraged consumers to consider switching to it.
According to the study, two main revenue areas in pushing HD are license fees and advertising. To increase the HD business though, networks will have to sacrifice license fees, which usually account for about half of a cable network's revenue stream. This means that HD networks will need to rely on advertising revenue for growth.
The 25 HD networks that the study tracked brought in $49 million in advertising revenues last year. By 2012, Kagan expects this number to grow to $421.7 million, which is still a fraction of all advertising revenues of cable networks. Source: Media Post Publications, 03/25/2008