High‐definition Television: A Case Study of Industrial Policy versus the Market Available to Purchase

The consumer electronics market has long been a battleground between competing trade blocs – primarily the EC, the USA and Japan. Discusses the most recent, ongoing battle, which concerns High‐definition Television (HDTV). The approach taken by the EC was to promote“national champions” in France and Holland without consulting the wishes of consumers and broadcasters. In the USA, by contrast, no subsidies were offered and a market‐driven solution was sought. This will be based on modern digital technology, whereas the EC and Japan initially set out to develop old‐fashioned analogue systems – and indeed achieved an end‐product. Since the consumer will either want no HDTV at all or a digital system, the market appears to have achieved what industrial policy could not.