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Analog TV Viewers In No Hurry To Redeem Digital Coupons

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A converter box will be vital for pretty much anyone who has a TV that's not connected to satellite or cable TV.

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By RICHARD MULLINS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 5, 2009

At least one thing is becoming clear about the digital TV transition just a month away.

People in the Tampa Bay area are a lot better at ordering government coupons to buy TV converter boxes than they are at using them.

Orders for coupons now outnumber redemptions at stores by about a three-to-one margin.

Those converter boxes will be vital for pretty much anyone who has a TV that's not connected to satellite or cable TV. On Feb. 17, TV stations will turn off the analog signal they've broadcast for decades and use only digital broadcasts. Most older TVs made before about 2004 will simply go blank.

Maybe people are holding out until the last minute to buy their converter boxes. Maybe people ordered coupons whether they needed one or not. Also, each household is eligible for up to two coupons, even if they need only one. Maybe it's just all a bit too confusing to sort out.

But here are the stats.

In ZIP codes starting with 33 (roughly west central Florida), people ordered 1,160,059 free government coupons that take $40 off the cost of a converter box at retail stores, the latest figures show. Most boxes cost $40 to $70.

But as for using those coupons, people aren't so busy. In those same ZIP codes, people have used 402,434 coupons at stores to buy a converter box.

For information on the transition, go to www.DTV2009.gov.

Reporter Richard Mullins can be reached at (813) 259-7919.

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