YONKERS, NY — A new Consumer Reports poll has found that millions of Americans who will be affected by the digital television (DTV) transition remain confused about how it will impact them and what they need to do to prevent losing television programming. On Feb. 17, 2009, the United States Congress has mandated that all U.S. broadcasters switch to digital broadcasting, which could leave millions of Americans 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."
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.
Current Beliefs and Misconceptions about the Transition
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 (32%) of consumers in households with at least one TV affected remain unaware they need to take action, and more than one quarter (28%) 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% have major misconceptions:
- 29% believe that all households will need digital televisions to watch TV
- 25% believe that every consumer must subscribe to cable, satellite or fiber TV to watch any television programming at all
- 9% believe consumers will have to throw away all analog television sets
Slow to Take Action
The majority (60%) of consumers who will have no functioning television in four months still have not taken action. Moreover, while awareness of the government coupon program to offset the cost of converter boxes has dramatically increased (76%), 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 four months:
- 36% indicated they are waiting to request a coupon until we are closer to February
- 38% 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 (80%) are aware of the government coupon program, although fewer than half (44%) have requested a coupon. Nearly half (49%) 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.
Consumer Reports will be releasing updated ratings on DTV converter boxes in November 2008. For more information on the digital television conversion and Consumer Reports’ Ratings of digital converter boxes, visit www.ConsumerReports.org/DTV.
Consumer Reports DTV Poll Methodology
The Consumer Reports National Research Center conducted a telephone survey of a nationally representative probability sample of telephone households. 2,011 interviews were completed among adults aged 18+. Interviewing took place over September 11-15, 2008. The margin of error is +/- 2.2% points at a 95% confidence level.
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CONTACTS: Joel Kelsey, Consumers Union, 202-462-6262 or Melissa Valentino, Consumer Reports, 914-378-2432
OCTOBER 2008 © Consumers Union 2008. The material above is intended for legitimate news entities only; it may not be used for commercial or promotional purposes. Consumer Reports® is published by Consumers Union, an expert, independent nonprofit organization whose mission is to work for a fair, just, and safe marketplace for all consumers and to empower consumers to protect themselves. To achieve this mission, we test, inform, and protect. To maintain our independence and impartiality, CU accepts no outside advertising, no free test samples, and has no agenda other than the interests of consumers. CU supports itself through the sale of our information products and services, individual contributions, and a few noncommercial grants.
