All full-power TV stations have made the switch to digital, but The Nielsen Company estimates that there are still 1.5 million households that haven’t made the transition. That number is slowly being whittled down.
Nielsen reported that 200,000 homes have upgraded to digital television in the last two weeks. In the month following the June 12 government-mandated digital TV transition, more than a million homes have made the switch. This recent improvement leaves 1.5 million American households, or 1.3% of the US, unable to receive digital television signals through the week ending July 12.
% Of Homes Completely Unready For DTV
| Date | Total | White | African American | Hispanic | Asian | Under 35 | Over 55 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 12, 2009 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 2.6 | 2.2 | 1.9 | 3.2 | 0.5 |
| June 28, 2009 | 1.5 | 1.1 | 3.5 | 2.3 | 2.5 | 3.5 | 0.6 |
| June 21, 2009 | 1.8 | 1.3 | 4.0 | 2.8 | 2.9 | 4.0 | 0.8 |
| June 14, 2009 | 2.2 | 1.6 | 4.6 | 3.6 | 3.2 | 4.4 | 1.1 |
| June 7, 2009 | 2.5 | 1.9 | 5.1 | 4.3 | 3.1 | 4.6 | 1.3 |
| May 24, 2009 | 2.7 | 2.1 | 5.4 | 4.7 | 3.2 | 5.0 | 1.5 |
| May 10, 2009 | 2.9 | 2.3 | 5.7 | 4.9 | 3.4 | 5.4 | 1.6 |
| April 26, 2009 | 3.1 | 2.4 | 5.9 | 5.0 | 4.1 | 5.7 | 1.7 |
| April 12, 2009 | 3.2 | 2.5 | 5.9 | 5.4 | 4.3 | 5.9 | 1.7 |
| March 29, 2009 | 3.4 | 2.7 | 6.2 | 5.6 | 4.4 | 6.3 | 1.8 |
| March 15, 2009 | 3.6 | 2.9 | 6.6 | 6.1 | 4.4 | 6.5 | 2.0 |
| March 1, 2009 | 3.9 | 3.2 | 6.7 | 6.5 | 4.5 | 7.2 | 2.2 |
| February 15, 2009 | 4.4 | 3.6 | 7.5 | 7.4 | 5.1 | 8.1 | 2.6 |
| February 1, 2009 | 5.1 | 4.1 | 8.7 | 8.5 | 6.3 | 8.6 | 3.2 |
| January 18, 2009 | 5.7 | 4.6 | 9.9 | 9.7 | 6.9 | 8.8 | 4.0 |
| December 21, 2008 | 6.8 | 5.6 | 10.8 | 11.5 | 8.1 | 9.9 | 5.2 |
| Source: The Nielsen Company | |||||||
The least digital markets continue to be primarily in the West. 3.88% of households are still unable to receive DTV in the Albuquerque-Santa Fe market and 3.19% in Dallas-Ft. Worth, according to Nielsen. Other markets above 2% include San Diego; Portland, OR; San Antonio; Austin; Seattle-Tacoma; Greenville-Spartanburg; Las Vegas; Tulsa; Los Angeles; and Sacramento.
