Nielsen Says 2.1 Million Still Unready

400,000 less homes unable to receive signal than on June 14

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 6/24/2009 2:22:00 PM

Nielsen says that 2.1 million TV households (1.8%) were unable to receive a DTV signal as of June 21.

The good news is that that is down 400,000 homes since June 14, two days after the switch to all-digital full-power broadcasting.

But reception issues are not confined to those over-the-air only households without digital TV's, or analog-to-digital converter boxes hooked up, which is what the Nielsen number measures. Other homes with DTV converter boxes hooked up are having some troubles due to signal propagation and power issues with VHF stations in big cities particularly.

FCC engineers continue to work with stations to resolve those problems, said a commission spokesman, in what the commission is characterizes as a mop-up operation for an otherwise successful transition.