Michael's Insight: Nielsen finds 60 percent of U.S. homes have at least one HDTV

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Michael S. Willner spent his entire career in the cable television industry. He co-founded Insight Communications in 1985 and served as its CEO, a director and vice chairman of the board until the company was sold to Time Warner Cable in February, 2012.

As a young boy in Miami, Florida, Michael had a fascination with the television business at a very early age. He often rode his bicycle to the local NBC affiliate after school where the staff allowed him to help out in the studio while they produced and aired a live children's puppet show and the local news. Michael began his career in 1974 as the program director and news reporter for a small suburban New York cable system after graduating from the Boston University College of Communications. Soon after, he shifted his focus to general management and eventually became the chief operating officer of Vision Cable Communications, a cable company owned by a division of Newhouse Newspapers.

After starting Insight Communications, Michael quickly developed his hands-on style of management as CEO. He is a firm believer in open, honest communication. He personally ensured that employees and customers were always well-informed and had input and influence over important Company decisions. This commitment led to a secondary career - that of a leading man in a number of Insight television commercials in which he comfortably played himself with a great sense of self-deprecating humor.

Michael also became very active in industry affairs and has been one of cable's most active and effective ambassadors on Capitol Hill, testifying regularly before Congress on industry issues and pending legislation. He has served two consecutive terms as chairman of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA), the cable industry's trade lobby and currently served on its executive committee for many years. Michael also served as chairman of the board of the Cable Center from 2007 through 2011. He served on the executive committee of CableLabs; on the board of directors of C-SPAN, and the Walter Kaitz Foundation.

A recipient of the NCTA's 2004 Vanguard Award for Distinguished Leadership and a 2005 inductee into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame, Michael has yet to achieve his greatest goal of winning an Emmy for his leading role in Insight's commercials.

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Nielsen finds 60 percent of U.S. homes have at least one HDTV

Nielsen Tech Survey Finds More HDTVs, DVRs [Multichannel News]

Nielsen has released its second quarter 2010 Home Technology Report, which tracks consumer electronics adoption. The report indicates that consumers are rapidly adopting more advanced electronics in their homes. The number homes that have HDTVs, broadband internet connections, DVRs, home wireless networks, and even iPads is growing at a very high rate.

Since the third quarter of 2008, HDTVs have grown 26.9%, and now over 60% of all U.S. homes have at least one HD television. LCD flat screens alone were up 48.2% from 2008.

VCRs obviously have continued to fall, and now even DVD players are seeing decreases in penetration, albeit slight decreases. In 2008, 87.9% of homes owned a DVD player, and now that number is down to 87.3%. Over 40 percent of homes have a DVR, and new to the report, iPad ownership stands at 3.6% of households.

Posted at 11:35 PM in High Definition Television | Permalink