According to this article from CNN.com, the Nielsen Company, which measures ratings and other television-related information, estimates that approximately 3 million people were not prepared for the conversion to digital television.  Additionally, the FCC reported that over 317,000 people called it’s help line.

This is not something that snuck up on people.  It wasn’t like television stations turned off their signals with no warning.  This has been coming for years, and yet 1 in every 100 Americans was not prepared.

I don’t know exactly when stations started broadcasting commericals and public service announcements about the switch to digital TV, but I know that I saw my first one late in 2007.  I remember thinking, “it’s over a year away.  They sure are starting the commercials early.”  Those commercials have been commonplace on network TV.  Rarely has a day gone by that I didn’t see at least one.

Yet when the original deadline was approaching in February, there were so many people who weren’t ready (Nielsen reports that it was a little over 6 million), they extended the deadline.  After the extension, the commercials became even more omnipresent.

I will admit that over the last 3 months or so the commercials have improved.  In the early days, the commercials said things like “make sure you are ready,” without saying who needed to be concerned and who did not.  The more recent commercials have been clearer.  They made it clear what people would be affected and who would not be.

If the commercials and reports in the news media weren’t enough, all of the affected channels ran a number of tests.  All people had to do was to turn on their TVs during specified periods of time, and they could see whether they were ready or not.

In spite of all of the commercials, all of the stories in the news media, all of the tests, and even direct mail advertisements from cable, satellite tv, and antenna companies, 1% of the U.S. population wasn’t ready.

This has been well-publicized public knowledge for over 18 months.  The TV stations all talked about it.  The news media covered it in detail.  Companies took advantage of it as a marketing tool.  And still 3 million people weren’t prepared.

I just don’t get it.