US: VOD outperforms PVRs

True managed services-based Video On Demand (VOD) will reach nearly 66 million US households (54%) by 2015, according to the latest quarterly report from Interpublic’s Magna Global.

Its year-end 2015 forecast for PVR subscriber households is 53 million (44% of TV households), up from 33 million (29% of TV households)

At of the end of the third quarter of 2009, there were 45.7 million VOD households (40% of total TV households).

On a platform-by-platform basis, Magnus Global reports the following:

DirecTV now has 7.4 million DVRs by its estimates, as nearly 66% of new subscribers took either HD and/or PVR boxes during Q3 2009. This compares to 7.0 million PVR subscribers at DISH Network. 44% of satellite subscribers now have PVRs by their estimates

Comcast added 399,000 advanced service customers during the quarter, or 8.7 million HD and/or DVR subscribers, and now has approximately 5 million PVR subscribers (estimated) –nearly 21% of the company’s total subscriber base.

Time Warner Cable’s PVR growth continued to moderate, increasing by 57,000 subscribers in Q3 2009 (vs. 150,000 in Q3 2008 and 89,000 in Q2 2009). Total PVR subscribers totaled 4.3 million at quarter’s end, 33% of the company’s subscriber base.