Report: Digital TV Altering U.S. Household Technology

MENLO PARK: New research from Knowledge Networks finds that the transition to digital television in the U.S. has directly impacted media technology in one out of every four TV households (26 percent) during the past year.

Knowledge Networks has been tracking reaction to the digital changeover, set for June 12, since 2006. New data, collected from February to April this year, shows that among TV households 18 percent said they had bought a digital convert to adapt a standard-definition set to receive digital signals. A further 8 percent said they bought a digital or HDTV set specifically in preparation for the switchover, while 5 percent started a new subscription to a pay-TV service in anticipation for the transition to digital.

Among the 18 percent of TV homes that bought a digital converter, most (80 percent) used the government coupon program. In homes that still have only broadcast reception, three times as many (53 percent) report they bought a digital converter in the past year, and 93 percent of those used the coupon program.

Awareness of the transition has increased to 91 percent of all TV homes in the U.S., up from 85 percent in 2008 and 45 percent in 2007.