NAB Says DTV Awareness Is Up, But Consumers Union Says Confusion Is, Too

Nearly eight in 10 consumers NAB polled this month have “seen, read or heard something” about Feb. 17, 2009, the group said. Awareness is even higher, 83 percent, in households that receive TV only over the air, the NAB said. Awareness has doubled in a year, proof that the “first phase of our consumer education campaign has been highly successful,” NAB President David Rehr said in a written statement.

Consumers Union was more pessimistic. “Awareness may be growing, but so is confusion,” Chris Murray, Consumers Union senior counsel, told reporters in a conference call. Polling 1,013 adults in mid-December, Consumers Union found 36 percent knew nothing about the DTV transition, and 74 percent of those who did know had “major misconceptions about its impact,” the group said. “It’s not only important to give the buzzwords of ‘digital transition, Feb. 17,’ Murray said. “It’s also important to clearly indicate to consumers what their available options are and make sure they have all the information they need to make an informed decision when they walk into that store and try to do something or believe like they have to do something to prepare for the transition.”

Joel Kelsey, Consumers Union policy advocate, said there’s “a difference between being aware and being accurately informed.” The widespread ignorance that Consumers Union polling found points up “the need for not just infomercials about people’s particular products, but for real information about what is the least costly way a consumer can make the switch to digital,” Kelsey said. Consumers Union found that buying a DTV converter box was “by far” the option that consumers aware of the transition are most likely to say they will explore. Still, 73 percent of them knew nothing about the government coupon program, the group said. In Q-and-A, Murray and Kelsey conceded that awareness of the coupon program probably has grown in the month since the government began accepting coupon applications, after the survey was taken.

Consumers Union also found that nearly one in four consumers think they'll need to throw away their analog TVs after the transition. Kelsey said his group greeted that finding with the most alarm because of the environmental damage if consumers follow through on that. Still, Consumers Union hails the CE industry “for ramping up efforts on electronic waste,” Kelsey said. Kiosks in Best Buy that inform the public about their transition options also are “great,” he said. “Folks might want to sell you a television set, but you might be able to undergo the switch with a coupon for a converter box that’s free or nearly free. We want to make sure that the incentives are right for people to get the right information and not just potential ways that they can make the switch.”

In a statement, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin praised the Consumers Union and NAB surveys as “valuable research to better to guide our education and outreach efforts.” The NAB finding “that more Americans are aware of the upcoming transition is a big step in the right direction,” Martin said. “It is equally important, however, as highlighted by Consumers Union, that consumers understand how to be prepared.”

Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein took a sharper tone. “The good news is that surveys from Consumers Union and the broadcast industry show that more Americans are becoming aware of the DTV transition,” Adelstein said. “The bad news is there is still a lot of confusion that could turn into widespread panic if the government doesn’t take a more proactive role. The FCC needs to present a comprehensive strategy -- a DTV State of the Union -- about how it plans to provide better guidance to the American people. We need to coordinate and work closer with the broadcast, cable, satellite and consumer electronic industries to ensure that no household is left confused by the DTV transition. The word is getting out, but we need a more coherent message to align the mixed signals people are getting.”