CANADIANS LIKE STAY-AT-HOME ENTERTAINMENT
By Adnews Staff
Canadians are home entertainment junkies, according to a study done by ACNielsen of Markham, Ont. More than one-third of Canadians own at least three TVs and 75% of them use cable to get their reception. Twenty per cent of the respondents use antennas and just over 5% use satellite. Only 6% watch pay-per-view programming. Although 96% of Canadians own at least one VCR, half use it mainly to record programs, and the other use it to watch pre-recorded programs. More than 70% of respondents rent at least one video each month. Action/adventure and comedies are the most popular choices. Eighty-three per cent of households own at least one pre-recorded video, while 40% own more than 20. Digital Video Disks where recently introduced as the latest in home theatre entertainment, but DVD technology can be found in less than 4% of Canadian households. British Columbia has the lowest penetration at less than 1%, while Quebec has the highest at 11%. Only about 2% plan to purchase a DVD player in the next year. About one-third of households own a video game system, with higher ownership in households where the head is under 50-years-old. Nintendo has the top two systems. The Sega Genesis system is the only other system with more than a 10% market share.