Nearly 9 in 10 Broadcast-Only Households Completely Ready for June 12 Digital TV Switch
June 11, 2009
WASHINGTON, DC — Nearly 9 in 10 households that rely solely on antennas to watch television were fully ready for tomorrow's nationwide transition to digital television (DTV) as of June 3, according to a new survey released today by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB).
Findings from this latest poll indicate that 88 percent of broadcast-only households are completely digital-ready, a considerable jump from 82 percent reported in NAB's April survey.
Of the 12 percent, or 2.2 million, over-the-air households that are still unprepared for the transition, three percent have applied for or already received converter box coupons from the federal government. But nine percent (1.75 million households), while aware of the transition, have not yet taken any action to prepare for the transition.
"This poll shows that as the deadline inches closer, many procrastinators are taking action and finalizing preparations for the switch to digital," said Seth Geiger, president of SmithGeiger LLC. "However, nine percent of over-the-air households appear stubbornly resistant to taking any kind of action to upgrade. Of this group, 21 percent still intend to apply for a coupon and 32 percent feel they still have time to get ready in the final week. As seen in Wilmington, North Carolina, we expect two-thirds of these viewers will belatedly make the transition as well."
In NAB's April survey, 2.1 million broadcast-only households had not taken any steps toward preparedness. Broadcast-only households that do not upgrade to DTV by tomorrow will lose reception after June 12.
The telephone survey of 948 current and former OTA households was conducted May 31 – June 3 by SmithGeiger LLC. The margin of error is 4.2 percent.
"In a free society, we would never expect to see 100 percent consumer participation in a technological change like the digital television transition," said NAB Vice President of Digital Television Jonathan Collegio. "The broadcast television industry, from major networks to small market stations, took upon itself the massive job of raising public awareness of the transition to complete and total saturation. Despite the dramatic success of these efforts, some viewers will make a conscious decision to not upgrade, and that is their choice. Over time, however, we expect many of these viewers to eventually make the switch to enjoy the tremendous benefits of free digital television."
In comparison to the DTV transition, after the 2006 enrollment deadline for the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit, more than 4.5 million eligible seniors did not enroll in the program despite a massive marketing campaign by the federal government, consumer organizations and the pharmaceutical industry.
Senior officials from the Commerce Department and Federal Communications Commission joined NAB and other industry and consumer organizations at a press conference today at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., to underscore these messages to viewers.
By law, all full-power stations must broadcast exclusively in digital by June 12, 2009. NAB is leading a public awareness campaign valued at more than $1.2 billion to educate Americans about the DTV transition.
