Washington Post

Many stations that switched early said they did so for financial reasons.

"Local and regional broadcasters have been losing ad revenue, and it's cutting into their budgets. Trying to broadcast a digital and analog signal simultaneously is very expensive for them," said Jayant Dasari, a research analyst at Parks Associates, a market research firm in Dallas.

From the article, "Some Markets Pull Plug on Analog TV" by Kim Hart

"Kurt Scherf, an analyst with Parks Associates, a market-research firm in Dallas, said he expects some people will instead opt to buy a new digital TV because prices have dropped in recent years. "

From the article, "Rabbit Ears Fears? Converters Clear Picture.," by Kim Hart

Understanding customers' needs will ultimately help Dell deliver better services to consumers too, said Kurt Scherf, vice president and principal analyst at Parks Associates. However, while Dell has been criticized for a weak consumer support function, the new support model is targeted only at enterprise customers for now. It is possible that this support model will be delivered to customers in the future, Dell said.

From the article "Dell Amends Enterprise Support Plan."

Studios initially will probably use the kiosks more to give older films a "longer tail" of availability, rather than offering new movies, for fear of upsetting existing retail partners and cannibalizing sales, said Kurt Scherf, principal analyst with Parks Associates. ...

Scherf has projected on-demand DVDs will generate $1.3 billion in revenue by 2011. Studios generate about $24 billion a year from DVD sales and rentals.

From the article "Walgreen sees movie-burning D ...read more

Being the first to enter the local market will be beneficial for Cox, but the company is likely to encounter fierce competition in the future from Verizon and other phone companies offering similar packages, said Michael Cai, director of broadband and gaming at Parks Associates, a Dallas telecommunications market research firm.

Nationally, cable companies are already competing with phone companies with quad-play bundles in some markets. Cai said Cox may find it difficult to ...read more

"Verizon's taking dead aim at the cable operators who have spent tens of billions of dollars to get their networks in place," said Kurt Scherf, vice president and principal analyst at Parks Associates, a Dallas market research firm. Telephone companies have an advantage over cable companies because they also offer wireless services, he said.

From the article "Verizon Store Follows Apple's Example," by Kim Hart.

Kurt Scherf of research firm Parks Associates estimates 660,000 people regularly download films now and that could grow to more than 9 million by 2010. Potential customers, including people who download movies occasionally, but not regularly, could be as high as 50 million by 2010, he added.

From the article "New Web venture ClickStar set to rankle Hollywood," by Bob Tourtellotte.

Structured wiring has a limited audience now: "high-income households and new houses," said Michael Cai, senior analyst at Parks Associates, a Dallas-based consumer technology marketing and research firm.

"The value is more for entertainment packages and connecting devices to share movies, music and computer files," Cai said. But the market is growing fast.

"About 4 million homes have structured wiring now. By 2008, we predict there will be just under 11 million," Cai ...read more