The Down Range Forum
Member Section => Down Range Cafe => Topic started by: shooter32 on June 12, 2009, 10:11:26 AM
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NEW YORK - More than 2 million households are in danger of seeing their major broadcast TV channels disappear into a fuzz of static when analog service ends Friday, according to surveys.
That is nearly half the number that were unready in February, when most analog TV broadcasts were originally scheduled to be turned off. The shutdown was delayed for four months at the behest of the Obama administration.
Research firm SmithGeiger LLC said Thursday that about 2.2 million households were still unprepared around the beginning of June. Sponsored by the National Association of Broadcasters, it surveyed 948 households that relied on antennas and found that 1 in 8 had not connected a digital TV or digital converter box.
Nielsen Co., which measures TV ratings with the help of a wide panel of households, put the number of unready homes at 2.8 million, or 2.5 percent of the total television market, as of Sunday. In February, the number was 5.8 million.
"We know some viewers will wait until the very last minute, or even after June 12, until they take action," said Paul Karpowicz, second vice chair of the television board of the NAB.
Requests for $40 converter box coupons from the government have spiked this week, according the to the Department of Commerce. On Monday alone, it received requests for 179,000 coupons, nearly twice the daily rate it saw a month ago. However, those coupons won't get to viewers by Friday. It takes nine business days. Without the government discount, converter boxes generally cost between $40 and $60.
Nielsen said minority households are less likely to be prepared, as are households consisting of people under age 35. Households with people older than 55 are far more likely to be prepared than the average.
The Albuquerque-Santa Fe area continues to be the nation's least ready market in the Nielsen survey, with 7.6 percent of TV households still unprepared.
Nielsen does not survey Puerto Rico, which is also believed to have many unready households. Both the Caribbean island and New Mexico have relatively few households connected to cable. Households that have all their sets connected to cable or satellite service are unaffected by the analog broadcast shutdown.
Both the Nielsen and SmithGeiger surveys count households as unprepared even if they have taken some steps toward getting digital signals, like ordering a converter box coupon.
Stations will start cutting their analog signals Friday morning, but many will wait until the evening. Nearly half of all U.S. stations have already ended analog transmissions, though most big-city stations have held off until Friday.
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Now can we stop seeing those damn commercials ::)
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I went without a TV for six years. I bought a new one and got cable on September 12th. I'm now hooked again. Damn Arabs!
FQ13
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I went without a TV for six years. I bought a new one and got cable on September 12th. I'm now hooked again. Damn Arabs!
FQ13
At least ya can't blame Cheney! :D
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At least ya can't blame Cheney! :D
He was the one setting my cable bill from the undisclosed location. >:( Bastard! ;D
FQ13
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He was the one setting my cable bill from the undisclosed location. >:( Bastard! ;D
FQ13
I knew you'd find a way. LOL
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NEW YORK - More than 2 million households are in danger of seeing their major broadcast TV channels disappear into a fuzz of static when analog service ends Friday, according to surveys.
I hate to be anti PC, but I really don't give a rat's ass.
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I hate to be anti PC, but I really don't give a rat's ass.
I agree! Like the passport issue recently, these people have only had two years to get off their asses and find a box or get cable. A rat's ass would be overpayment!
If an elderly person needs some heating oil, I'll fill their tank. If a veteran needs a meal, I'll buy them dinner and give em a place to crash! If they need to watch the evening news, they ain't missing much...
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I'm just glad they are going to stop talking about it...
that shit was getting anoying.
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They have only had OVER A DAMN YEAR TO GET A GOV"T VOUCHER! The gov't spent 2 BILLION dollars on this, so the relics with rabbit ears can join the 21st century.
Here at the final, really final transition, since we extended it for the po folk to get along, if tomorrow they can't watch the MSM, it is just breaking my heart.
Read a book....
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Read a book....
I haven't owned a TV in 9 years, currently reading "Patriots" by James Wesley, Rawles
Who ever suggested this, (It was one of you guys) THANK YOU !!! Picked it up at they Library today (they BOUGHT IT for me, it just came in yesterday ;D ) I'm already 1/3 through, going to have to buy my own copy.
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Cool book, I have 2 copies. I read the old version. Then, when I found out the new version would have a table of contents AND an index - making the cool stuff easier to find, I ordered one for me and another for the younger son.