The war over consumer entertainment continues and in Europe it appears to be moving towards Blu-ray. Speaking at the Blu-ray Disc Association last week, Jim Bottoms projected that by 2010, only 17 out of 115 million homes will have access to HD broadcast services. Given the lack of HDTV, the demand for HD media is going to increase. In Europe, the current balance of Blu-ray to HD is about 80/20 and the introduction of PS3 last month has done a lot to maintain this lead. He added that Blu-ray disc sales accounted for 72% of the market and that this has increased steadily.
This situation is quite different from that in the US, where HDTV is still relatively new to most consumers. Additionally, by 2010, some 81 out of 138 million homes will be receiving HD broadcast signals. Add this to the relative lack of HD experience, and the media acceptance will be much slower.
