In Nielsen’s final update before the June 12 deadline, 2.8 million American households, or 2.5% of the television market, are completely unready for the transition to digital television. Younger, African American and Hispanic homes are disproportionately unready, while the elderly are the most ready.
| % OF HOMES COMPLETELY UNREADY FOR DIGITAL TRANSITION | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DATE | Total | White | African
American |
Hispanic | Asian | Under 35 | Over 55 |
| June 7, 2009 | 2.5 | 1.9 | 5.1 | 4.3 | 3.1 | 4.6 | 1.3 |
| May 25, 2009 | 2.7 | 2.1 | 5.4 | 4.7 | 3.2 | 5.0 | 1.5 |
| May 10, 2009 | 2.9 | 2.3 | 5.7 | 4.9 | 3.4 | 5.4 | 1.6 |
| Apr 26, 2009 | 3.1 | 2.4 | 5.9 | 5.0 | 4.1 | 5.7 | 1.7 |
| Apr 12, 2009 | 3.2 | 2.5 | 5.9 | 5.4 | 4.3 | 5.9 | 1.7 |
| Mar 29, 2009 | 3.4 | 2.7 | 6.2 | 5.6 | 4.4 | 6.3 | 1.8 |
| Mar 15, 2009 | 3.6 | 2.9 | 6.6 | 6.1 | 4.4 | 6.5 | 2.0 |
| Mar 1, 2008 | 3.9 | 3.2 | 6.7 | 6.5 | 4.5 | 7.2 | 2.2 |
| Feb 15, 2009 | 4.4 | 3.6 | 7.5 | 7.4 | 5.1 | 8.1 | 2.6 |
| Feb 1, 2009 | 5.1 | 4.1 | 8.7 | 8.5 | 6.3 | 8.6 | 3.2 |
| Jan 18, 2009 | 5.7 | 4.6 | 9.9 | 9.7 | 6.9 | 8.8 | 4.0 |
| Dec 21, 2008 | 6.8 | 5.6 | 10.8 | 11.5 | 8.1 | 9.9 | 5.2 |
| source: The Nielsen Company | |||||||
“Since February, when the U.S. government postponed the transition for three months, the number of households that are completely unready has been cut in half – from 5.8 million to 2.8 million homes,” said Sara Erichson, President Media Client Services, The Nielsen Company. “Given the importance that television plays in the day-to-day life of most people, we expect that the most of the remaining unready homes will take the necessary steps to get ready once the stations make the final switch to digital transmission. We will continue to follow this trend closely.”
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