US transitions to digital TV

Seven decades after regular television broadcasts began in the US, the era of the “bunny ears” aerial ends on June 12, when analogue television broadcast signals are switched off around the country. The digital TV transition has been years in the planning, but is still likely to cause disruption and confusion for millions of viewers.

The end of analogue broadcasts by all full-power television stations in the United States will free up valuable broadcasting spectrum for use by wireless broadband services and new local or niche-interest channels. Digital broadcasts can transmit much more information than analogue signals, unblocking spectrum that is attractive because of how much information it can carry, and how far it can travel from a transmitter.

A public awareness campaign costing more than $1bn has encouraged those consumers still using analogue equipment to prepare by buying converter boxes, upgrading antennas or switching to digital cable and satellite pay-TV providers. About 17 per cent of US homes still rely on antennas for their TV reception, according to the National Association of Broadcasters.

The digital TV transition was supposed to take place in February. In Barack Obama’s first month as president, however, he delayed the switch after a Commerce Department voucher scheme offering $40 subsidies for converter boxes suffered heavy backlogs. Nielsen estimated at the time that 4.4 per cent of TV-owning households could have faced blank screens had the switchover gone ahead on schedule.

Bob Granville reaches to change the channel on his analogue television set in his home in Miami, Florida. Even with the extra time, 2.2m households had still not adapted their equipment for the digital TV transition, according to figures released by the National Association of Broadcasters, although 440,000 of these had taken some steps. Nielsen estimates that as many as 2.8m households, or 2.5 per cent of the country, may be unprepared.

David Saul shops for digital-ready televisions in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Unprepared viewers will have to buy new equipment to continue to receive their current channels. In some cases, particularly in mountainous areas or cities where buildings interrupt the signal, "rabbit ears" will not be enough, and viewers will need rooftop aerials. In apartment buildings, that may be difficult, and more costly cable or satellite services may be the only alternative.

Tommy Bass and Jim Salem carry an analogue television set at the Broward County Waste & Recycling Services Solid Waste centre in Pompano Beach, Florida. Digital TV readiness varies widely across the country, and between different demographic groups. Nielsen reported that 7.6 per cent of households around Albuqeruque and Santa Fe would have problems, compared with under one per cent in east coast cities such as Pittsburgh, Baltimore or Providence. African American and Hispanic audiences had lagged other groups, but have narrowed the gap, the NAB found.

George McLean drives a forklift holding discarded analogue TVs at the Broward County Waste & Recycling Services Solid Waste Center. Publicity about the transition prompted a 48 per cent jump in antenna sales last year, according to the Consumer Electronics Association. Pay-TV companies have seen only a small benefit, according to Craig Moffett of Bernstein Research, although they may see another wave of procrastinators signing up for their services after June 12.

Some cable and satellite subscribers may take advantage of the digital TV transition to trade down. A poll for Harris Corporation, a communications and technology company, found that younger audiences were most likely to save money by switching to free over-the-air TV and supplement it with online video.

The US is the largest market, but not the first, to switch off analogue TV signals. In the last three years, at least eight European countries, including Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden, have made the transition. Japan is due to go digital in 2011 and the UK is part way through a region-by-region “digital switchover” scheme that is due to complete in time for the London Olympics in 2012.