March 22, 2009 DTV Switch Getting Less Scary, Month by Month
By Andrew Krukowski Television Week http://www.tvweek.com/news/2009/03/dtv_switch_getting_less_scary.php If Americans continue to prepare themselves at the current rate for the June 12 switch to all-digital television signals, the number of homes that aren't ready by the deadline could be quite small, vindicating the Obama administration's decision to push back the transition. Last week, the Nielsen Co. said around 4.1 million homes, or 3.6% of U.S. households, were completely unready for the digital transition as of March 15. But that number was 916,000 lower than it was on Feb. 15. For TVWeek's comprehensive coverage of the digital television transition, visit the DTV Switch Navigator page. With nearly three months to go until the transition, and nearly a million homes a month joining the rolls of the DTV-ready, fewer than 1 million could be unprepared when analog broadcasts end. A last-minute rush for analog-to-digital converter boxes and a rush to cable or satellite services could leave even fewer viewers than that watching static. Stations' gradual market-by-market shift to digital may enhance efforts to get the country ready. The Federal Communications Commission announced last week that 158 additional stations are looking to go digital before June 12. They join 637 outlets that already have made the jump to digital-only broadcasting. In total, 44% of the country's stations will be digital-only before the deadline. A majority of the latest group of stations announced were public television and independent stations, with some standouts owned by larger station groups, including Fox-owned Philadelphia station WTXF. WTXF stands out because Fox, along with CBS, NBC, Telemundo and ABC, agreed in February to air dual analog and digital signals on their owned-and-operated stations until June 12. A WTXF spokesman said the station appears on the FCC's newest transition list because it will lower its analog coverage area to 87% of its current area as of May 22. The spokesman said the FCC required stations that are lowering their analog coverage to less than 90% to submit a notice to the government. WTXF will be airing both analog and digital signals until June 12, he said. Philadelphia stands as the second most-prepared market of the top 56 in the nation as of February, with only 1.8% of households being "completely unready." African Americans in Philadelphia are the largest segment of the city's population unready for DTV, with 4.8% of those households listed as "completely unready." Despite gains in overall readiness, minorities nationwide still lag in preparedness for the digital transition. Nielsen said 6.6% of African American households across the country were DTV-unready as of March 15, down just 0.1% from March 1. And 6.1% of Hispanic households are unready, while 4.4% of Asian households are unready nationally. Among white households, 2.9% are unready as of March 15, compared with 3.2% on March 1. ================================================= George Antunes Voice (713) 743-3923 Associate Professor Fax (713) 743-3927 Political Science Internet: antunes at uh dot edu University of Houston Houston, TX 77204-3011 *********************************** * POST TO [email protected] * *********************************** Medianews mailing list [email protected] http://lists.etskywarn.net/mailman/listinfo/medianews
