Group station owner ION is working with cable & satellite providers and other station owners to set up a multi-market analog switchoff test for next month. So far, B&C says stations in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Philly and Hartford have signed up. Ten days ago, most of the stations in Wilmington, N.C. made the big switch to digital permanently. And many other stations across the country have conducted switchoff tests.
This week we did our second such test at KTXA, the independent half of the CBS-owned duopoly in D/FW where I work. Based on our experiences answering viewers’ questions during our tests (which echo a Magid study last spring), I think there’s a good chance a lot of people will lose their signals in February because they don’t understand what it all means. It’s not like the industry isn’t trying to explain it; you can’t turn on a TV today without seeing a PSA about the switch. But, as Cory has said, buying a digital TV is complicated, and the hundreds of questions we’ve fielded during our tests reflect the confusion.