Nielsen: Almost 3 Million Homes Not Ready for DTV

NEW YORK: Some 2.8 million American homes are not ready for the June 12 analogue switch-off, according to The Nielsen Company, reflecting about 2.5 percent of the television market.

Younger, African American and Hispanic homes are disproportionately unready, the report notes, while the elderly are the most ready. The transition to digital TV had originally been scheduled to take place earlier this year, but was postponed over concerns about the number of homes whose screens would go dark in the absence of a converter box or a pay-TV subscription.

“Since February, when the U.S. government postponed the transition for three months, the number of households that are completely unready has been cut in half—from 5.8 million to 2.8 million homes,” said Sara Erichson, the president of media client services at The Nielsen Company. “Given the importance that television plays in the day-to-day life of most people, we expect that the most of the remaining unready homes will take the necessary steps to get ready once the stations make the final switch to digital transmission. We will continue to follow this trend closely.”