Despite the enormous incentive that the quadrennial World Cup is supposed to provide for globally expanding the universe of HD consumers this summer, Reuters and others are reporting that with the 12-site tournament in Germany only three months away, marketing plans in Europe appear to be quickly fading. But it's not a lack of interest on the part of viewers that's being blamed.
Estimates are that only about 100,000 households throughout Europe are likely to watch the 64-game sporting event in HD primarily because of delays further developing and manufacturing MPEG-4 technology needed for TV set-top boxes, according to research conducted by Screen Digest, a London consultancy. Although those STBs are now becoming available, the report suggests it's already too late to sell and install enough boxes to make significant inroads for HD coverage.
Screen Digest projects by 2010 there will be about 50 million HD-ready sets -- but only 11 million European households will actually be viewing HD. Premiere in Germany, TPS in France, Sky Italia in Italy, Canal Digital in Scandinavia, and the BBC will feed some games in HD.
