• February 10, 2009

With the government's decision to delay the transition to digital TV until June, Best Buy says it is launching a "Blackout Prevention" campaign in stores in the 25 largest cities in the U.S.

On Tuesday--the first day that broadcast stations are allowed to stop broadcasting in analog--Best Buy associates will wear "DTV Blackout Prevention" t-shirts to encourage customers to ask questions and get ready for the switch.

And in all its stores, TVs within the stores will broadcast an educational message, including a simulation "of what will happen to their analog picture if they aren't prepared for the transition."

At this point, more than 5.8 million U.S. households--or 5.1% of all homes--are not ready for the upcoming transition to all-digital broadcasting, according to Nielsen. "The Albuquerque-Santa Fe market continues to be the least prepared, with more than 12% of households completely unready and at risk of losing all television programming if the transition occurred today," it says.--Sarah Mahoney