The number of homes with stand-alone Blu-ray players (excluding PlayStation 3’s) nearly doubled this year so far, according to a 2010 Consumer Technology Household Online Penetration Study by market research company The NPD Group.
The increase from 6% in 2009 to 11% this year is partly attributable to the broadening penetration of HDTV coupled with deep discounting during the holiday season based on the 2,400 respondents from NPD’s proprietary opt-in online consumer panel who participated in the survey in mid April 2010.
Flat-panel TVs grew slightly to 64 percent, up from 61 percent in 2009 while the percentage of households with two or more flat-panel televisions remained flat.
“Consumers are flocking to products that offer slim profiles and access to digital content,” said Ross Rubin, executive director of industry analysis at NPD. “Devices such as Blu-ray players, netbooks, and e-readers are being used to enable rich, connected experiences.”