It's not how you sing, it's how you look!

So, an English study looked at opera broadcasts/simulcasts in movie theaters, analyzed audience demographics and surveyed the audiences. And concluded that the HD thing... isn't really making an impact on actual live opera attendance. So... maybe the pendulum will swing back to "prima la voce"... I can dream, right? (As a woman with an instrument, who has not been blessed with stellar physical beauty and currently has a weight problem, you know...) My guess (from their data) is that the HD-casts offer a way for many older patrons, or even families with children or pensioners who can't afford tickets, to see an opera--with less hassle, travel, driving/walking, etc. But I think this would be the case for productions local to a city, being simulcast in that particular area. The Met HDcasts are a different story, I'd imagine. Here it is in more detail.