National Survey Proves HDTV Gift Givers Need a Reminder: Don't Forget the HD Service!

PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- For years, parents have trained themselves to avoid disappointment by remembering batteries on Christmas morning. This year, gift givers need to help friends and family find the best high-definition service to go along with their shiny new high-definition televisions (HDTVs), according to a new pre-holiday study commissioned by Comcast.

The survey showed that one in four consumers has a high-definition television (HDTV) on their holiday wish lists or shopping lists. However, 88 percent of the gift-givers are not thinking about including the HD service that these sets require as part of the gift. As a result, HDTV recipients over the holidays may not experience the full benefit of high-definition picture and sound. In addition, 72 percent of survey respondents with a preference responded that receiving HD service along with an HDTV would increase the value of the holiday gift.

"Our goal is to help consumers get the most out of their HDTVs, and that means giving them the best high definition service," said Derek Harrar, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Video Services for Comcast. "There's always more HD to watch on Comcast, with the best picture and easiest installation."

Comcast offers the most HD choice, including hundreds of programs available on your schedule On Demand. In a recent third-party picture-quality test, two out of three satellite customers chose the Comcast picture. Finally, Comcast high definition service is easy to install, requiring no satellite dish on a customer's roof.

To aid holiday gift-givers in the same household, Comcast recommends booking the HD service installation prior to the giving the gift. Some Comcast markets are offering HD "instant installations" during the week following Christmas so lucky HDTV recipients can get their service as quickly as possible after opening their new TV set.

Survey Methodology

The study was conducted for Comcast via EXCEL telephone omnibus by ICR, an independent research company. Interviews were conducted from 11/20/07 to 11/25/07 among a nationally representative sample of 662 adults who either own an HDTV or are interested in high definition television. The margin of error is +/- 3.8%

About Comcast

Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) (NASDAQ:CMCSK) (http://www.comcast.com/) is the nation's leading provider of cable, entertainment and communications products and services. With 24.2 million cable customers, 12.9 million high-speed Internet customers, and 4.1 million voice customers, Comcast is principally involved in the development, management and operation of broadband cable systems and in the delivery of programming content.

Comcast's content networks and investments include E! Entertainment Television, Style Network, The Golf Channel, VERSUS, G4, AZN Television, PBS KIDS Sprout, TV One, Comcast SportsNet and Comcast Interactive Media, which develops and operates Comcast's Internet business. Comcast also has a majority ownership in Comcast-Spectacor, whose major holdings include the Philadelphia Flyers NHL hockey team, the Philadelphia 76ers NBA basketball team and two large multipurpose arenas in Philadelphia.

Source: Comcast Corporation