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23 Million TV Sets May Go Dark In DTV Switchover

Midwest and West may be hardest hit

By Martin H. Bosworth
ConsumerAffairs.com

February 22, 2008 

That's the conclusion of a new report by Consumers' Union, which studied the different regions that will be affected by the DTV transition, as well as the results of efforts to educate consumers about the switch.

According to the consumer group, Western and Midwest states such as Texas and California will be hit especially hard by the switchover, as they have large population groups that are reliant on over-the-air television signals via "rabbit ear" antennae.

"Over 20 percent of homes with televisions in both Dallas and Houston rely solely on free over-the-air broadcasts," said Joel Kelsey of Consumers Union."The programming that people rely on everyday to stay informed or for entertainment may not be there for nearly 1.5 million Texas households after February 2009."

The greater Los Angeles area had 958,030 households with access to over-the-air service only, the largest single concentration in the country. Salt Lake City, Utah, had the largest percentage of consumers with over-the-air access in major cities, with 23 percent of all of its TV households, or 203,290 homes, using broadcast signals only.

The report also detailed the lack of comprehensive knowledge about the transition. "33 percent of Americans in households that will have no functioning television after February 17th 2009 were completely unaware the transition is coming," the report said.

Although the government has scrambled to build awareness of the DTV transition and has publicized its offering of vouchers to buy converter boxes for digital signals, 73 percent of Americans are unaware of the program at present.

Consumers' Union charged electronics retailers with taking advantage of the lack of information surrounding the DTV transition in order to market expensive equipment that consumers may not need.

"A combination of low consumer awareness, technological complexity, and financial incentives to sell more television and related services create a fertile environment for confusion," the report authors said. "For vulnerable populations―such as the elderly or low‐income households―the potential for being misled,intentionally or unintentionally, is significant."

What to 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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