RLTV Poll: Many Seniors Unaware of DTV Transition
Retirement Living TV: Almost one in four seniors not aware of DTV transition.
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 8/7/2008 8:13:00 AM
Almost one in four seniors is not aware of the digital-TV transition, and that number increases to one in three for those with less formal education.
That is according to a poll conducted by Washington, D.C.-based Retirement Living TV.
Seniors disproportionately watch over-the-air TV and have been identified by the Federal Communications Commission, the National Association of Broadcasters and others as one of the target populations that will be most affected by the switch to full-power DTV in February 2009.
RLTV said its research suggested that the transition will affect almost 70 million households, or 23% of the total.
The network found that 31% of seniors without a college education are not aware of the transition and say they haven't heard about it.
"The DTV-transition-education campaigns are working, but more should be done to target the most vulnerable," said Patrick Baldwin, vice president of strategic development for RLTV, in a statement announcing the findings.
The poll was conducted June 4-10 among 800 randomly selected adults. It has a margin of error of plus-or-minus 3.5%.
