The DTV Countdown: Complete Coverage of the DTV Transition
In its last update before the majority of TV stations pull the plug on analog June 12--joining the rest who already have--Nielsen says there are approximately 2.8 million homes still unready for the transition.
By that, it means that according to their in-home survey of Nielsen's metered households, those are over-the-air-only households without a digital TV, cable or satellite service or a converter box.
But Nielsen says it is expecting most of the rest to get ready once stations make the switch.
Minorities and lower-income families are the least ready, while seniors, one of the target populations of DTV education efforts, continues to defy predictions by being the most ready group.
The good news is that unreadiness figure has been cut in half since February, when all full-power stations were initially mandated to shut off their analog signals.
In raw numbers, Los Angeles has the most unprepared homes, at 252,180 (4.46%), while Albuquerque, N.M., has the highest percentage of unready homes, at 7.58% (52,235 homes).
Acting FCC Chairman Michael Copps is in Los Angeles on Wednesday to publicize the transition and urge viewers to take steps to keep their TV signals.
