A DTV test by 12 local television stations across Central Florida’s Orlando DMA proved that many viewers are aware and prepared for the digital transition.
The 12 stations disconnected their analog signal at 7:59 p.m. on Wednesday. A 60-second on-air message then ran on the television sets of 365,000 households. Those who saw the message on their screen had DTV-ready sets, while those who saw a black screen had analog sets unprepared for the digital TV transition.
A special phone number for those who failed the test received only 501 calls. Comcast Cable subscribers made up 146 of those calls, while 123 callers had TV sets more than a year old and were receiving their signal over-the-air via an antenna.
Informational spots asking viewers to take part in the test seem to have been successful, as viewership was up 8% compared with the previous Wednesday for the 12 stations.
Two more tests are planned by Orlando TV stations in September and December.