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More Than Half of Over-The-Air Consumers Prefer Free Broadcast Television After The DTV Transition

APTS Survey Also Finds Consumer Awareness Increase to 76.4%

WASHINGTON—March 20, 2008—More than half of over-the-air consumers who are aware of the digital transition prefer to receive free digital television by buying a converter box or digital TV set instead of pay TV services, according to the latest survey from the Association of Public Television Stations (APTS).

Roughly 62 percent of the approximately 14.5 million over-the-air consuming households who are aware of the cutoff to analog television indicated that they would buy a converter box or digital TV set between now and when the transition takes effect February 17, 2009, compared to 10 percent who would opt for cable, satellite or telecommunications service to receive digital television.

Consumer awareness of the transition has also increased to 76.4 percent in February 2008 compared to 51 percent in November 2007. Moreover, 55 percent, or 23 million of these households, correctly identified the year when the DTV transition will occur.

“It’s estimated that there are 9 million over-the-air households in America that know about the transition and say they want to continue to receive free television,” said APTS Acting President and CEO Mark Erstling. “The wishes of these households, which encompass nearly 26 million people, can’t be ignored. We must ensure that these consumers know how to install converter boxes and have the proper antenna equipment to receive adequate digital signals.”

The choice of a converter box or digital TV set has dramatically increased since November 2006, when 28 percent of over-the-air households said they would take those options.

Part of that increase is due to the converter box coupon program that launched in January and is administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). As of March 19, NTIA reported it has received requests for 8,067,272 coupons from 4,267,828 households.

Still, 17.5 percent of over-the-air consumers who are aware of the transition “don’t know” what they will do and roughly 10 percent said they would “do nothing.”

Moreover, 75 percent of all American households who are aware of the transition don’t understand why the transition is taking place at all, an increase from the 58 percent six months ago.

But the perception of how the government is handling the transition has slightly improved since November 2007. About 26 percent of all Americans think the government is on the “right track,” compared to 17 percent six months ago.

The study results are based on a February 2008 survey of 1,307 households conducted by research firm CENTRIS in Fort Washington, Pa.