Nielsen Data: Americans Not Ready for TV???s Switch to Digital
Feature Story by Tyler Lewis - 6/2/2008
A May 2008 report from Nielsen Media Research finds that more than one in five households are not ready for television's switch from analog to digital.
The digital television (DTV) transition was mandated by Congress and will take place on February 17, 2009. On that date, most television stations will stop broadcasting analog over-the-air signals, switching to digital signals.
The Nielsen report measured the digital readiness of U.S. households as of April 30. Nielsen found that about 22 percent of households have one or more television sets that are "unready" for the transition because they cannot receive a digital television signal. "Ready" sets are defined as those that are connected to cable or satellite TV, a digital converter box, or have an internal digital tuner.
"The Nielsen data is consistent with what we've known for some time now. But it's important to point out that this population is made up of some of our most vulnerable citizens, including minorities, seniors, households on fixed incomes, persons with disabilities and rural Americans. It's important that they all be prepared for the transition," said Mark Lloyd, a communications law expert with the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights.
According to the Nielsen report, Blacks make up a little more than 16 percent of all homes that have no digital-ready television sets. Latinos make up nearly 20 percent of the homes with no digital-ready television sets. And households where the head of household is 55 or older make up almost a third of all homes that have no digital-ready television sets.
A number of representatives from the broadcast, cable, and consumer electronics industries, as well as civil rights organizations concerned about the effect of the transition on affected populations, formed the DTV Transition Coalition to educate and prepare viewers for the transition.
The focus of the coalition's work is to inform communities most affected by the transition about the federal government's TV Converter Box Coupon Program. Under this program, households can request up to two $40 vouchers toward the purchase of DTV converter boxes, which allow analog televisions to receive digital signals.
Industry concern over the impact of the DTV transition is so high that Nielsen announced in April that it will move its February 2009 sweeps to March for the first time. The ratings collected during sweeps week, which happens four times a year in February, May, July and November, are used to set television advertising rates.
