[opendtv] Plenty of DTV converter boxes left, study finds
- From: "Manfredi, Albert E" <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 19 Jan 2009 17:56:12 -0500
Looks like a very decent demand for these guys.
Yesterday, on NPR, someone from the Obama elect-administration made the
claim that the coupon program had run out of money. I sure hope that
sort of hyperbole is not a harbinger of things to come.
The only problem with the coupon program is that the unredeemed 45
percent (or whatever the exact figure) of them out there have not yet
expired. There should still be money in the pot.
Bert
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Plenty of DTV converter boxes left, study finds
Dylan McGrath
(01/16/2009 7:00 PM EST)
URL: http://www.eetimes.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=212901071
SAN FRANCISCO-If the switchover from analog to digital television
broadcast doesn't happen as scheduled Feb. 17, it won't be for lack of
digital-to-analog converter boxes, according to a study released Friday
(Jan. 16) by market research firm Digital Tech Consulting (DTC).
Retailers and manufacturers have shipped an estimated 33.5 million
digital-to-analog converter boxes into the U.S. marketplace, and
approximately 9 million boxes are still available for customers who have
waited until the last minute to make a purchase, according to DTC's
research.
The transition has been scheduled since Congress mandated it in 2006.
But with a month left to go, several people-including U.S.
President-elect Barack Obama and members of the Federal Communications
Commission-are advocating for the switch to be pushed back. The U.S.
government said early this month that it had run out of $40 discount
coupons for consumers to help pay for the converter boxes, and some fear
that many viewers are unaware of, and unprepared for, the switch.
Myra Moore, principal at DTC (Dallas) said the availability of coupons
is a separate issue. But, she said, manufacturers and retailers have
held up their end of the bargain, ensuring the equipment was available
to support the switch.
After some shortages in the first quarter of 2008, when only 1.3 million
converter boxes were sold, retailers made some changes to their supplier
roster, Moore said. As a result, shipments of converter boxes increased
by 49 percent in the second quarter, another 64 percent in the third
quarter and nearly 100 percent in the fourth quarter, according to
Moore.
"While the Congress works out the last-minute issues surrounding the
waiting list for government coupons, the NTIA [National
Telecommunications and Information Administration] program has resulted
in sales of nearly 20 million coupon-eligible converter boxes," Moore
said. "And our research shows that as many as four million additional
boxes have been sold to consumers without coupons."
Moore said the market for the converter boxes has been even stronger
than DTC's original forecast of 30 million units, which some said was
too generous. She noted that the coupon program has obviously help boost
sales.
DTC's findings are the result of analysis of government data, interviews
with converter box manufacturers and component suppliers and discussions
with major retailers, the firm said.
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United Business Media LLC. All rights reserved.
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