U.S. Homes Speed Transition To Digital TV

In recent months, U.S. households have accelerated their preparations for the nationwide switch to digital TV, Nielsen reported Tuesday.

The percentage of completely unready households declined from 8.4% in September 2008 to 7.7% last month — the largest single-month change in the past six months, according to Nielsen.

Month	% of U.S. HHs that are Completely Unready	% of U.S. HHs that are Partially Unready
May 2008	9.8%	11.9%
June 2008	9.6%	11.8%
July 2008	9.3%	11.6%
August 2008	8.9%	11.4%
September 2008	8.4%	11.0%
October 2008	7.7%	10.7%
Source: The Nielsen Company (May 2008 – October 2008).

Non-Hispanic households continue to be more ready than their Hispanic counterparts.  But in recent months, both Hispanic and non-Hispanic households have hastened their preparations for the digital transition. 

Month	% of Hispanic HHs that are Completely Unready	% of Non-Hispanic HHs that are Completely Unready
May 2008	14.4%	9.2%
June 2008	14.9%	8.9%
July 2008	14.5%	8.6%
August 2008	13.4%	8.3%
September 2008	13.0%	7.9%
October 2008	12.4%	7.1%
Source: The Nielsen Company (May 2008 – October 2008).

As the February 17, 2009 digital transition approaches, Nielsen will continue to track the readiness of TV households in the U.S.  

Readiness data are based on TV sets and households in Nielsen’s National People Meter panel, which is representative of U.S. television households, and Nielsen’s local metered panels, which are representative of their respective television household populations.

View the full media alert.

Read coverage of Nielsen’s findings in Media Post, Multichannel News, and Broadcasting & Cable.