Denmark: HD Penetration nears 50 Percent


Thanks to an analog cutoff deadline and a subsequent threefold increase in the number of viewers transiting to HD in the past year, Denmark can now claim to be among the most HD-concentrated countries in Europe, according to a new survey.

The sudden surge in Danish HD households since mid-2009 led one exec of cabler YouSee to claim that he's never seen a new technology catch on so robustly in such a relatively brief period. The survey was conducted on YouSee's behalf.

The new data indicates almost two-thirds of current HD homes in Denmark made the jump within just the past 12 months. Facing an analog switch-off in the small (and relatively wealthy) nation last November, many viewers used the transition date as incentive to get digital sets — resulting in a particularly pronounced HD surge in the few months immediately prior to, and following, the late fall cut-off.

An estimated 780,000 HD sets were bought in 2009, according to the survey.