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Poll Finds Lingering Confusion Around Digital TV Transition

Many households will lose service after switchover without information

November 17, 2008

Congress has mandated that all U.S. broadcasters switch to digital broadcasting on Feb. 17, 2009 -- a move that could leave millions without access to free over-the-air broadcasts unless they buy a digital converter box, a new digital television or subscribe to cable or satellite.

"With the digital television transition just four months away, millions of consumers remain confused about how to prepare for it and are vulnerable to wasting money on unneeded or unwanted equipment," said Joel Kelsey a policy analyst with Consumers Union. "The federal government, broadcasters and cable companies have a responsibility to make sure consumers are educated about the most cost effective way to make this transition, and that simply isn't happening."

A poll by Consumer Reports found that about 17 percent of Americans living in television households have at least one television set that will be affected by the digital transition, and 13 percent rely exclusively on over-the-air signals (OTA). Unless they take some action before February, nearly 19 million Americans will be in households without television programming.

Transition misconceptions

While 93 percent of Americans indicated they are aware of the digital transition, consumers are still unclear about how the transition will affect them. Nearly one-third of consumers in households with at least one TV affected remain unaware they need to take action, and more than one quarter of those who will not have any functioning TV sets in their home next February do not know that they are affected by the transition.

Even consumers whose digital television sets will continue to function properly after the DTV switch are confused. Of the consumers aware of the transition, 63 percent have major misconceptions:

• 29 percent believe that all households will need digital televisions to watch TV

• 25 percent believe that every consumer must subscribe to cable, satellite or fiber TV to watch any television programming at all

• 9 percent believe consumers will have to throw away all analog television sets

Slow to take action

The majority of consumers who will have no functioning television in February still have not taken action. Moreover, while awareness of the government coupon program to offset the cost of converter boxes has dramatically increased, fewer than half of the consumers with at least one television affected by the DTV transition have requested a coupon.

However, many of these consumers have plans to request their coupon in the coming months:

• 36 percent indicated they are waiting to request a coupon until we are closer to February

• 38 percent have said they haven't had the chance to submit an application yet

What's with the boxes?

Currently, there are about 60 models of digital converter boxes available, which range in cost from about $40 to $90. Consumers can request a $40 government coupon to use towards the purchase of these devices. Among consumers who are aware of the transition and will have at least one television affected by the conversion, eight in 10 are aware of the government coupon program, although fewer than half have requested a coupon. Nearly half of consumers who requested a coupon have not yet used it to purchase a new converter box.

It is important to choose a digital converter box that allows for individual channels to be easily added without needing to redo the time consuming "scan-for-all-channels." Boxes with analog-pass-through will allow the TV to continue receiving available analog, as well as digital, signals, including those from lower-power TV stations, which may continue to broadcast in analog past the February 2009 deadline.

What you can do

The following sites have more information about the analog-to-digital transition:

• Our Dawn Carlson provides a thorough overview of what you need to know.
  
• Visit the FCC's official DTV site to get more information.
• Apply for a converter box coupon at the NTIA's converter program Web site.
  
  
  

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