DTV Sales Up 84% In September

ARLINGTON, VA.— Sales of digital television sets and monitors to dealers reached 147,573 units in September, up 84 percent from sales in September 2000, according to figures released by the Consumer Electronics Association.

Those sales generated some $268 million in sales for the month, CEA said. Meanwhile, the association released cumulative unit sales of digital television set-top decoder/receiver boxes, showing some 95,842 factory sales to date.

Gary Shapiro, CEA president, said "This year alone consumers have invested nearly $1.6 billion in DTV products."

Consumer dollar investment in DTV is projected to reach nearly $5 billion by the end of this year, CEA said. The association projects sales of DTV sets and monitors to continue their rapid growth in the coming years, with unit sales of 1.1 million this year, 2.1 million in 2002, 4 million in 2003, 5.4 million in 2004, 8 million in 2005 and 10.5 million in 2006.

"Unfortunately, product sales alone do not complete the DTV transition," Shapiro stated. "Consumers need more high definition content and cable customers need to be assured that they will enjoy the same DTV experience as satellite and off-air households. Consumers need broadcast and cable to help complete the transition."