On Friday, February 15, Nielsen Media Research released its study identifying the impact of the digital conversion that will take place one year from now — February 17, 2009. At that time, full-power broadcast stations will stop broadcasting an analog signal and transmit only a digital signal. Homes that get their television programming over an antenna and do not have a digital TV set will not be able to get a picture unless they purchase a special converter box. According to Nielsen, 13 million households in the U.S. receive television programming over the air on non-digital TV sets. Another 6 million households contain at least one television that is non-digital. Due to the mandatory conversion imposed by the federal government on the broadcast stations, millions will need converter boxes within a year or else face a complete blackout of television programming. Residents with cable or satellite television do not have to worry about the conversion because their cable or satellite company will convert the signal.

Latinos are nearly twice as likely to be adversely impacted by the mandatory conversion as other segments of our population. Based on Nielsen’s study, 10.1% of all households would have no access to television signals if the transition occurred today. Broken down by race, this translates to 8.8% of whites; 11.7% of Asians; 12.4% of blacks; and 17.3% of Latinos.

The fact that nearly one in five Latinos will lose their television signal unless they convert should be of grave concern. For many in our community who do not use computers or own vehicles with radios, the only source of information is the television set, especially for Latinos who rely on Univision and Telemundo for their news. In the event of an emergency, one in five Latinos will not be informed.

The reality is that the reason so many Latinos are at risk of losing their television signal is because of the high cost of a digital TV and the rising cost of cable television. Many immigrant and working-class Latinos have to prioritize their expenses to pay for things such as rent, food, and other key living necessities. While in my opinion a television is a necessity, many working-class Latinos do not have the luxury of paying for cable television or purchasing a high definition television. Now this segment of our community is at risk of being left out of communication unless the government does more to help prepare for the digital conversion.

The National Telecommunication and Information Administration (NTIA), a division of the U.S. Department of Commerce, needs to do more to raise the awareness of this conversion. Converter boxes are available at most electronic stores for about $60, but the government offers coupons worth $40 that can be used towards the purchase. However, the NTIA admits on its own website that there is not enough funding to give everyone who needs a converter box a coupon, which means that either Congress will have to increase funding for the program or the coupon program will run out and leave our community without television service.

To request a coupon, consumers can apply online at https://www.dtv2009.gov or call the 24-hour hotline, 1-888-DTV-2009 (1-888-388-2009). We need to raise the awareness of this potential hidden crisis that could impact Latinos the most. As we get closer to the February 17, 2009 deadline, we need to be watchful of how much funding is left for the coupon program. If we begin to hear that the NTIA is running out of funding, we will need to urge Congress and the next President of the United States that they need to do more to keep members of our community from losing their television signal.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 18th, 2008 at 12:34 pm and is filed under General, Business, New Jersey, Blogroll. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.