Although more Canadians are subscribing to digital TV, there is a core group of analog holdouts that may never make the switch, according to a new consumer study by Decima Research.

Today, 54% of all households in the country with satellite or cable TV have digital subscriptions, compared to 40% in 2004, but others are sticking with analog.

‘They are kind of rattling their cages,’ says Decima’s VP Rick Nadeau. ‘They either don’t see a need or they think it costs too much. Fundamentally they don’t see digital as value for their money.’

This consumer group is a challenging one for digital TV providers because they are set in their ways, Nadeau tells Playback Daily, because ‘the more we trek along, the harder it is for these people to move over to a digital platform.’

Because existing technologies already enhance the TV experience, HDTV — with its sharper picture and high-quality sound — isn’t enough to attract analog users to digital. ‘HDTV no longer excites the marketplace. Plasma and LCD are taking center stage and they are eroding the digital TV industry,’ says Nadeau.

In this latest report, The Digital Domain, the Ottawa firm attempted to look at consumer attitudes about IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) or TV delivered through phone lines. For most Canadians, IPTV ‘remains a novelty,’ says Nadeau. Decima mainly queried consumers in the western provinces where the service exists, and found that about one-third of people are aware of it and one-tenth would seriously consider buying it. ‘It’s still very new. It’s a merging of broadcast and telephone, and it’s still a bit hazy in people’s minds.’

The study is based on a telephone survey of 2,000 adult Canadians. It also found that consumers are becoming increasingly aware of how much they are spending on telecommunications and want easy one-shop shopping and good value.

Other events that will shape the market in the months to come will be the entry of Bell into the IPTV market, as well as the rapidly developing debate about the amount and nature of government regulation and foreign ownership in the telecommunications sector, says Nadeau. ‘If there is deregulation, it will make it easier for local telephone companies to compete with cable companies.’