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Canada's consumers may have a bigger per-capita appetite for high technology than the US, according to recently released statistics. The northern nation is one of the world's strongest markets for televisions and related technology, representing a $1.1 billion market annually for such products. DVD players, for example, are the hottest consumer-electronics products in Canada. More than 202,000 machines were sold in 1999, a 121% increase over 1998, with approximately 500,000 expected to be sold by the end of this year.

Of Canadian households, 57% own more than one television set, and 68% of TV buyers are over the age of 35. Of these buyers, 54% are men. Seventy-four percent of Canadian TV purchasers want their sets equipped for stereo sound. Although 33% of the sets sold measure 27–29" diagonally, 20% of all sets sold this year have been big-screen models measuring more than 32".

In a statistic perhaps not unrelated to the long northern winters, 55% of Canadian TVs are purchased between the months of September and December. An equal percentage are purchased at furniture, appliance, and electronics stores, with major department stores accounting for about 18% and mass merchants 12%. Buying clubs sell approximately 8% of all television sets sold in Canada.

These statistics have encouraged electronics manufacturer Zenith and its parent company, Korea's LG Electronics, to undertake a massive marketing campaign in Canada. The two have invested $5 million to launch a new line of "Flatron" high-definition televisions and plasma display panels. "Canada is one of the world's most attractive markets for TV technology, with a growing taste for premium projection TVs and a fast-adapt rate to new technologies," said Dr. K.C. Chee, president of LG Electronics Canada, Inc.