Web site www.publictechnology.net carried an article last week titled Switchover to Digital TV not understood by citizens says new DTI research.. The research report, Attitudes to Digital Switchover - The impact of digital switchover on consumer adoption of digital television, showed that most people, while not opposed to switching to DTV, will keep analog TV sets as secondary sets as long as they work.
The survey, covering 1,500 viewers across the U.K., gathered extensive information about households and their plans for digital television without a switchover date having been announced and then offered a hypothetical switchover date for the respondent's area (either November 2006, 2008 or 2010 chosen randomly). The survey then asked again about digital television, seeing how people thought their plans would change.
Here are some of the situations analyzed in the report. The current DTV conversion status has 50 percent of the households with one or more DTV sets and 22 percent of the households with all television sets digital. Looking at the television set data, 33 percent of all sets are converted, 50 percent of the first sets are converted and 17 percent of subsequent sets are converted to DTV.
Looking at the expected DTV penetration with no switchover date announced, by 2010, looking at households, 72 percent of the households would have one or more digital sets (70%-80%) and 43 percent would have all TV sets digital. From the TV set viewpoint, 54 percent of the sets would be converted, 72 percent of the first sets would be converted (70%-80%) and 36 percent of the subsequent sets would be converted to DTV. The range of numbers in the households and first sets converted to digital is shown as a range because 15 percent didn't know if they would convert. If some do convert, that could push the conversion number up to 80 percent.
If a switchover data was announced, the study showed that by 2010, 95 percent of the households would have one or more digital sets and at least 61 percent would have all television sets switched to digital. At least 72 percent of all TV sets would be converted to digital, with 95 percent of the first sets converted and at least 56 percent of the subsequent sets converted to digital.
Refer to the 156 page report, Attitudes to Digital Switchover - The impact of digital switchover on consumer adoption of digital television, for more information.
