Getting Serious as 'The Big Switch' Nears

[Commentary] Feb 17, 2009, is television's T-Day when all American television sets must transition from analog to digital delivery, whether ready or not. Most of America is ready, with recent surveys insisting 90 percent of TV homes are at least aware of what one station bills as The Big Switch. But that nagging 10 percent is causing concern as it represents five risk categories where TV is not a luxury but a lifeline: The elderly, limited income families, Hispanic households, rural families and the disabled. Public Broadcasting viewers already include all of those five risk groups, according to Kelly Chmielewski, PBS director of broadcast management. PBS researchers decided to learn more about people who rely solely on over-the-air reception. What they discovered is OTA audiences, generally speaking, despite income or locale, choose to watch TV this way, and hope to do so after next February. For the elderly, especially the elderly on a fixed income, even if they want digital television, many cannot afford to buy the set-top boxes needed and scammers have already devised schemes to bilk them in the process. Without immediate outreach to the elderly and homebound, scammers will fill the gap.
http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2008/06/19/daily.1/