• by Wayne Friedman , June 5, 2009

A week to go before the big digital TV changeover, and estimates are that about 1 million or so U.S. households will see snow -- not video -- on their TV screens if they don't act.

 

This information comes from Nielsen Media Research in conjunction with the latest estimate from the Federal Communications Commission, which says 319 stations (out of 1,770) are in danger of losing more than 2% of their analog viewers. A mixture of small and large stations made the list, including big-market stations Fox station WNYW-TV New York and CBS' KPIX-TV San Francisco.

The FCC says these potential viewer losses -- coupled with a change in TV coverage areas -- means that TV stations are mandated to inform viewers with on-air messages every day, starting on Monday, that they may lose TV signals.

The White House led a charge earlier in the year to give TV households more time to make a change, which resulted in a move to June 12. On Thursday, President Obama issued a statement to those still in analog TV households:

"The number of households unprepared for digital television has been cut in half. Still, some people are not ready. I want to be clear: There will not be another delay. I urge everyone who is not yet prepared to act today, so you don't lose important news and emergency information on June 12."