Digital TV Transition and the Hard Disk Drive Revolution in Television Viewing

The conversion to digital television broadcasting is taking place in various countries. The shutdown of analog transmission requires the consumer to purchase either a new television set or a conversion device. In Finland, many converter boxes are equipped with a hard disk drive (HDD). Using interview data and freely available statistics, this study explores this phenomenon and consequent changes in television viewing. Some viewers watched most programs from the HDD and hence reported nonexposure to TV advertisements. Reasons for nonpreference for post-broadcast viewing of programming from the HDD are considered, and comparisons are drawn with the practice of watching shows from a PC or DVD. Also discussed is that, regardless of the reduced communication power of conventional advertisements, the television industry might benefit from viewers' increased options.