Are You Buying That Converter Box Or What???
Millions of those homes are considered “completely unready” when the nation converts to digital over-the-air television on February 17, 2009. And it's no surprise that African-American households stand to lose a disproportionately high share of access, as extra televisions in kitchens and bedrooms will be more likely to go dark, potentially cutting into the number of people viewing early morning and late-night television.
In preparation for the change, the government and the broadcast industry are running a $1 billion consumer education campaign, including commercials that have started to become almost intrusive to people who watch television regularly. Just wondering how much of that money has been allocated to minority PR firms, African-American newspapers and radio, as well as Black blogs who could assist in getting the word out.
Televisions connected to cable or satellite service will not be affected. But older television sets that receive over-the-air signals will need to be hooked up to a converter box to ensure uninterrupted service. (Some newer sets are equipped for digital signals.)
The digital TV transition could have a significant impact on the television ratings maintained by Nielsen and relied on by networks and advertisers. If older TV sets simply drop out next February, viewer numbers and ratings will drop, hurting the local stations and television networks that sell advertising time tied to those ratings.
Within some demographic groups, disparities were evident. Hispanic, exclusively Spanish-speaking, African-American and younger households showed higher percentages of unready sets.
Nielsen data suggests that secondary TV sets — in the bedroom or the kitchen, perhaps — are more likely than the main set in the living room to be unready. Ratings for some daytime shows could be affected more than others. (Viewers use the unequipped sets more often in the morning hours, while readying for work and school, and the late-night hours, while falling asleep.
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