Getting ready for digital broadcasting: Factors contributing to consumer readiness

With few exceptions, United States television stations had completed a mandatory transition from analogue to digital broadcasting by the statutory deadline of 12 June 2009. To limit the disruption to viewers who had been receiving their television over the-air (OTA) during a period leading up to the switchover, broadcasters and govern-ment officials sponsored several initiatives to make consumers aware of the impending transition and to inform those reliant on OTA reception of what they needed to do to continue watching television after analogue service was terminated. This article presents an empirical analysis of factors that contributed to cross-market variation in the rates and ways OTA viewers prepared themselves for the switchover.