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Thousands in Ohio not ready for digital switch

June 12, 2009 @ 07:50 AM

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The day of the digital TV transition has arrived, and a television research firm says thousands of Ohio viewers still are not ready.

Stations on Friday are ending their traditional analog broadcasts in favor of digital. People who watch over-the-air television need to obtain a converter box and antenna to receive the new digital signals. The boxes can be purchased using a $40 coupon from the federal government.

Nielsen Co., which measures TV ratings, reports that the Cleveland-Akron television market has nearly 56,000 homes that don’t have what they need to see digital TV, while in Cincinnati the number is close to 20,000. Columbus has a little over 19,000 unprepared households.

Nationally, Nielsen put the number of not-ready homes at 2.8 million, or 2.5 percent of the total television market, as of Sunday.