More than 5.8 million U.S. households — or 5.1 percent of all homes — are not ready for the upcoming transition to all-digital broadcasting, according to Nielsen.  The Albuquerque – Santa Fe market continues to be the least prepared, with more than 12 percent of households completely unready.
Percentage of Households that Are Completely Unready For the Digital Transition

Click here to read the Nielsen’s entire DTV readiness update.

Susan Whiting, Vice Chair, Nielsen
In 2005, Congress mandated that television stations switch from analog to digital signals in 2009. The purpose of this switch was to increase the efficient use of the spectrum, to expand consumer choice for video programming, and to increase the amount of spectrum available for public safety and other wireless services.  In addition, Congress was able to raise nearly $20 billion by auctioning the analog spectrum that has been used for broadcast television.
The switch to all-digital television broadcasting, which was originally scheduled to occur on February …

According to Nielsen, more than 6.5 million U.S. households – or 5.7 percent of all homes — are not ready for the upcoming transition to all-digital broadcasting and would be unable to receive any television programming at all if the transition occurred today. This is an improvement of 1.3M homes since Nielsen reported readiness status at the end of December.
“Nielsen has been preparing for the transition to digital television for more than two years,” said Nielsen Vice Chair Susan Whiting. “Because we recognize that accurate and reliable information …

As Americans prepare for the shift to digital television, Nielsen has been at the forefront of tracking the public’s readiness for the change.  As the February 17 transition approaches, new attention has been focused on the sizeable number of people, particularly from minority communities, who have not yet taken action to prepare and may lose their signals.
Two Nielsen executives, Susan Whiting, Vice Chairman of the company, and Anne Elliot, a Vice President, spoke with the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune, respectively, about the preparedness of some communities and …

With the shift to Digital Television on the horizon, Nielsen Online has been tracking the online conversation, seeking out the top blogs talking DTV. The topic has seen a significant spike of late, starting back in October following Nielsen’s initial readiness announcement. Recently, Barack Obama’s comments about extending the DTV deadline prompted another conversation spike in early January.

With the nationwide transition to digital TV in the U.S. little more than one month away, 6.8% of U.S. households remain unready for the switch to all-digital broadcasting, according to Nielsen.
Nielsen Wire recently spoke with Patricia McDonough, SVP of Insights, Analysis and Policy, Nielsen, about the company’s efforts to accurately measure TV viewing following the February 17 digital transition.
Nielsen Wire: What is Nielsen doing to prepare for the transition to digital TV broadcasting?
Patricia McDonough:
We are planning for a busy post-holiday season in which we expect many unprepared households to purchase …

The penetration of U.S. households completely unready for the transition to digital television dropped from 7.4% in November to 6.8% in December, Nielsen reported Friday.
Non-Hispanic households continue to be more ready for the transition than Hispanic households, but the rate of Hispanic readiness is picking up. After seeing no change in unready Hispanic households from October to November, that percentage dropped from 12.4% to 11.5% in December.