In the past year, 26 percent of U.S. TV households have taken some sort of action in an effort to prepare for this week’s transition from analog TV transmission to DTV, according to the results of a new survey.
The finding is part of the Spring 2009 Ownership and Trend Report produced as part of Knowledge Network’s “The Home Technology Monitor.” The study found that among TV households:
- Eighteen percent said they had bought a digital converter to adapt an SD set to receive digital signals;
- Eight percent bought a digital or HDTV set specifically in preparation for the transition; and
- Five percent started a new subscription to a pay TV service, such as cable or satellite TV, in anticipation of the switch to digital.
According to Knowledge Networks, some of those in these three groups have taken multiple actions, producing a net value of 26 percent who have taken some steps.
The research organization also found a high level of awareness regarding the DTV transition among all TV homes. Awareness has grown to 91 percent of all TV homes knowing of the transition, up from 85 percent last year and 45 percent the year before.
The research organization also found a sharp decline in the number of TV sets per home that rely on over-the-air (OTA) TV reception. The most recent findings show the number of OTA sets had fallen to .48 from 1.32 in spring 2006.
Data for the report was drawn from a telephone survey of 2498 TV households conducted Feb. 20-April 11, 2009. The margin of error was +/-2 percent.
