Digital TV transition dates

In July, Nielsen found that over 20% of households had at least one TV set that would no longer work after the digital TV transition date, down just slightly from January, when that figure was 23%. The slow progress of the transition will no doubt end in a flurry of activity at the end of the year as the deadline approaches.

That is especially the case as more and more consumer electronics producers become fully engaged in pitching converter boxes to analog consumers, said Rob Enderle, principal at the Enderle Group, San Jose, Calif. "A lot of consumers will wait until the last minute to pick up a digital HDTV receiver, and that puts them in the middle of the fourth quarter push. Retailers will make the connection between the switchover and this idea to get a new set. Let's face it, the opportunities are pretty big here to get people to buy a new TV set in this changeover."