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TV Universe Loses 1.5M Due to Digital Transition: DTV Transition News, Updated 10-15-09

In Nielsen’s final update on the readiness status of U.S. homes to receive digital TV signals, the measurement company pegged the number of homes that failed to make the DTV transition at nearly 1.5 million.

Nielsen says 0.49% of U.S. households are still unable to receive DTV signals. These households are no longer part of Nielsen’s DTV universe, reports MediaPost. “With the passing of the [digital TV] transition deadline on June 12, 2009, Nielsen continued to track the readiness status of the total U.S. and local television markets. This is the final communication in a series of digital readiness updates,” Nielsen told clients Wednesday.

The total U.S. TV universe is now at 114.9 million households and 229 million persons ages 2+.

7-30-09: 1.2 Million Still Unable to Get Digital TV Signals: DTV Transition News

More than a month after the transition to digital TV, about 1.2 million homes are unable to receive television signals.

Of those, about half earn less than $25,000 a year, according to Nielsen.

99% of homes can receive digital signals, though some households that have made the switch are reporting trouble receiving some channels, writes MediaPost. The youngest households - where the head of the household is under 35 - are the demo with the highest percentage of homes unable to receive digital transmissions, at 2.7%. It is suspected that some in the younger group may have decided that there is enough television content online that they do not need to watch traditional television.

6-22-09: Univision Sees No Obvious Declines from DTV Switch
Univision saw total prime time viewership jump 10% on June 13, the first night after the transition, compared to the same night the previous week, while Telemundo saw prime time viewership plummet 75%. The next night, Telemundo saw total viewers jump 20% from the previous week, whereas Univision’s total viewership fell 9%, writes MediaPost.

Nielsen reported that two days after the switch, 3.6% of Hispanic homes were still without TV service.

6-18-09: FCC: DTV Switch an Ongoing Process

The switch from analog to digital television signals happened last Friday and, while it has gone smoothly for the most part, many homes are still not capable of receiving the digital signals. Nielsen said that as of two days after the switch, 2.5 million homes were totally unprepared, having only older TVs that would not receive digital signals. As of Wednesday this week, 2.2% of households still have not hooked up their DTV reception, per Nielsen. The FCC is saying it will take weeks for stations to perfect their transmissions, and for remaining homes to get converted, either by purchasing a converter box or signing up for a cable or satellite service, reports The New York Times.

6-11-09: DTV Switch Takes Place Tomorrow, 2.8M Still Unprepared
The switch from analog to digital TV takes place tomorrow (Friday), and 2.8 million households - or 2.5% of TV households - remain unprepared, with televisions that will not receive digital TV signals, according to Nielsen’s latest figures.Another 9 million households are partially unprepared, with at least one TV that will not work tomorrow.

The least prepared markets include New York, L.A., Chicago, Philly, Miami, Boston and Dallas-Fort Worth. Inner cities and rural areas where fewer subscribe to cable and satellite services are the least prepared.

The good news is that the coupon program, which issued $40 vouchers to help people pay for a converter box that allows older, analog TVs to receive digital signals and which had run dry before the February deadline, is once again flush. There is apparently enough money to provide the coupons to all the households that still need them before the final July 31 deadline, writes CNET.

6-5-09: Obama Declares No More Delays for DTV Switch

President Obama has warned those unready for the transition to digital TV that there will not be another delay. The switch will take place June 12 as planned, he said.

Nielsen’s latest figures show the total percentage of households unprepared for the switch is 3.5%.

5-4-09: Number of Households Unprepared for DTV Switch down to Just 3.5 Million

With seven weeks to go before the transition to digital television, 3.1% of U.S. TV households, or 3.5 million, remain unprepared for the switch. The most-prepared demo is Caucasian households, at 2.4%. The least prepared are Hispanic households, at 5%. In December, 11.5% of Hispanic households were unprepared.

Younger TV homes are less prepared, with under-35-year-old TV homes at 5.7% unprepared. 55-and-over homes are at just 1.7% unprepared.

Awareness levels of the DTV switch are near 98%, according to the NAB.

The transition to digital TV will take place June 12.

3-23-09: Households Unprepared for DTV Transition Decline Dramatically

Just 1.2% of homes will be unprepared for the digital TV transition come June 12, according to Nielsen. That’s down from the 4.4% of homes that would have been unready for the switch, had the transition date not been moved back from Feb. 17.

The group that has improved the most is the younger TV homes, with the head of the household being 35 or under, Nielsen says. However, those younger households, along with African American TV homes, remain the least prepared for the switch.

3-5-09: Acting FCC Chairman Asks National Media to Cover the Delay

Acting chairman of the FCC Michael Copps says that while trade press coverage of the DTV delay - the new date for the digital transition is June 12 - has been strong, national media coverage has been “more than a little wanting.”

During his second open meeting since he became acting chairman, Copps said that most Americans had heard nothing but a “small snippet” of information about the delay. C-SPAN has been covering it well, he said, and he asked other national media to follow suit.

FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell said that the transition still has a ways to go, and that when it does happen, it will be “messy in some places.”

2-17-09: 641 Stations Make the Switch

Despite the fact that the Obama administration made a delay to the digital TV transition official, with the date moved from Feb. 17 to June 12, 641 stations adhered to the original deadline and made the switch to digital broadcasting.

The stations had notified the FCC that they preferred to make the switch at the earlier date and asked for permission to do so. Some stations that made the request were not granted permission because it was determined that they would potentially cause public interest harms. To date, about 36% of all TV stations have made the switch to digital, according to Adweek.
2-12-09: Obama Makes DTV Delay Official

President Obama made the DTV transition official Wednesday when he signed legislation moving the digital TV transition date from Feb. 17 to June 12.

Obama had made it clear that he backed a delay, saying that too many Americans weren’t prepared. “Millions of Americans, including those in our must vulnerable communities, would have been left in the dark if the conversion had gone on as planned, and this solution is an important step forward as we work to get the nation ready for digital TV,” Obama said in a statement.
2-11-09: Nearly 500 Stations Plan to Meet Original Feb. 17 Deadline

A total of 491 TV stations plan to terminate analog service on Feb. 17, despite the fact that the digital TV transition deadline has been moved from that date to June 12.

Many of those who have chosen to stick with the original date are either non-commercial broadcasters or are stations in smaller markets like Burlington-Plattsburgh (Vermont) and Oklahoma City. Major market affiliate groups, as well as the network O&Os of ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC, will honor the June deadline.

2-5-09: DTV Transition Delayed

The House voted to extend the deadline for the digital TV transition to June 12. The Senate passed similar legislation last week, and President Obama is expected to sign the bill.

The stimulus package currently before Congress includes more financing - up to $650 million worth - for more coupons to help consumers buy converter boxes.

2-2-09: DTV Delay Bill Expected to Pass

It is beginning to look more likely that the DTV transition will be delayed until June 12. The Senate has approved a revised piece of legislation on the matter, and a bill could make it to President Obama’s desk by the end of this week. This round, the House is seeking a majority versus two-thirds vote to secure passage, writes MediaPost.

1-29-09: House Defeats Bill to Delay Transition

House Republicans on Wednesday defeated a bill to delay the upcoming DTV transition. The vote failed to clear the two-thirds threshold, with Republicans voting against the bill, in part, they say, because a delay will simply confuse consumers.

As of last week, approximately 2.6 million consumers were on the waiting list for a coupon for the converter boxes that allow old televisions to receive new digital signals. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration has begun re-distributing coupons as older, unredeemed ones reach their 90-day expiration date, freeing up more money.

1-27-09: Senate Approves Digital TV Delay

The Senate has voted to delay the transition to digital television - originally scheduled for Feb. 17 - until June 12, because some viewers are not yet ready for the switch.

Similar legislation awaits action in the House, reports The New York Times. Some Republicans opposed a delay, saying it would postpone public safety improvements intended by the transition.

According to the most recent Nielsen data, 6.5 million homes are unprepared for the switch. Nearly a million and a half households are on a waiting list to receive a converter box coupon; the federal program fell short of money when demand for the coupons grew higher than expected.

1-26-09: Nielsen Data Shows Just 6% of Households Not Ready for the Switch

Just 5.7%, or 6.5 million homes, remain unprepared for the transition to all-digital television, according to Nielsen data (via Marketing Charts). That’s 1.3 million homes less that the number Nielsen reported at the end of December. Many of the unready households include people with low incomes, minorities, disabled persons and seniors who most rely on traditional, free TV for much of their information about the world.

“It is imperative that we operate at an accelerated pace to educate those who are at the greatest risk of losing their television service. These viewers rely on traditional television the most and can least afford to lose their television lifelines,” said Cynthia Perkins-Roberts, a member of the Nielsen African American Advisory Council (AAAC).

Among the 56 local markets that Nielsen measures with electronic meters, the one that is least ready is Albuquerque-Santa Fe, with 12.4% of the households completely unready.

Under government-mandated action, all television stations are required to switch to digital programming by February 17,  which will leave viewers without a television signal unless they purchase digital television sets, connect to cable, satellite, and alternate delivery systems or purchase a converter box.

1-23-09: Republican Rep Proposes $250 Million to Re-fund Converter Box Coupons

In response to Democratic bills to delay the DTV transition, Rep. Joe Barton (R-Tex.) countered with a bill that would authorize $250 million to resume the distribution of digital-converter-box coupons.

Bills to delay the transition have been introduced in both the House and the Senate, but have not yet made it to a vote, writes Adweek.

 

1-22-09: Democrats Postpone Exploration of DTV Delay

The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s scheduled markup on a bill to delay the digital television transition has been postponed.

The chairman of the committee wanted to give the committee more time to process the implications of such an action, according to Mediaweek. Democrats are frustrated over the converter-box coupon program, which has left 2 million consumers on a waiting list.

1-14-09:House Republicans Oppose DTV Delay

House Republicans have written a letter to President Elect Barack Obama saying that delaying the DTV transition would hurt “first responders” and delay the public safety improvements intended by the transition

The letter reads, in part, “The transition is freeing broadcast spectrum for firefighters, police officers and other life-savers and also providing them with $1 billion to equip themselves with the state-of-the-art communications gear that was so tragically lacking on 9/11. The transition plan is freeing additional spectrum for advanced wireless broadband services and has raised almost $20 billion in spectrum auction proceeds for taxpayers.”

The letter, signed by ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Rep. Joe Barton (R-Tex), and 15 other committee Republicans, is a response to the Obama administration’s request that the transition date be delayed, writes Adweek. Other groups, including the Consumers Union, have said that Americans are unprepared for the switch; Nielsen data shows that 7.8 million households will not be ready for the switch next month.

Rather than a delay, Barton and others suggest bipartisan legislation that would allow the government to issue more coupons. Because of the recession, more consumers than expected requested coupons rather than purchasing new TVs or subscribing to a pay service that would allow them to receive digital television signals.

Obama’s pick for the position of Chairman of the FCC, Julius Genachowski, is expected to be in favor of a transition delay.

1-09-09:  Obama Urges DTV Delay

President-elect Obama’s DTV transition staff has found major difficulties in the digital TV transition set to take place Feb. 17. The co-chairman of the team, John Podesta, has asked Congress to consider a delay, saying the government funds supporting the change are “woefully inadequate.”

ABC and NBC also support a delay, while PBS frets that children in less-affluent homes that rely on free television would lose access to PBS educational shows for kids, writes The New York Times.

The news follows reports that demand for the government coupons for converter boxes that will allow old TVs to receive the new digital TV signals has been higher than expected,