Nielsen: U.S. Households Not Ready for DTV Conversion

February 19, 2008 World Screen

LAS VEGAS, February 19:
According to the Nielsen Company, more than 13 million U.S. households with
television sets that can only receive analogue broadcasts are currently
unprepared for the all-digital transition that is scheduled for February 18,
2009, with another 6 million households owning at least one television set that
would no longer work after that date.

According to Nielsen, 10.1
percent of all U.S. households would have no access to television signals if
the transition occurred today, and 16.8 percent of all households have at least
one analogue television set that would not work after the switch.

If age and ethnicity are
factored in, Nielsen found that adults over 55 are better prepared for the
digital television conversion than younger households; and Whites and Asians
are more ready than Blacks. More Hispanic households still rely on analogue,
over-the-air broadcast television than non-Hispanics.

New York is the most ready
local television market, with just 3.5 percent of households owning
"unready" television sets. Meanwhile, Portland, Oregon, is the least
prepared local market, with 22.4 percent of all households using only analog
sets and over-the-air television.

These estimates are based
on the same national and local television ratings samples that are used to
generate Nielsen television ratings. These samples are representative of the
total U.S. population and individual local markets.

“The change to all-digital
broadcasting is the most significant change in the history of television,
because unlike other advances such as color, older television sets will no
longer be able to receive television signals without a converter,” explained
Eric Rossi, the senior manager of product leadership and the leader of
Nielsen's digital transition preparedness team. “Over the past 18 months we
have been reviewing every aspect of the digital transition to measure the
impact and help clients understand where things stand as we all prepare for the
challenges.”

—By Irene Lew