Cashing In on TV Switch

CASHING IN ON TV SWITCH
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Shira Ovide shira.ovide@dowjones.com]
RCA and Zenith, two of television's oldest brands, are expected to play a major role as TV converts to digital-only broadcasts in early 2009. The switch away from traditional analog signals may be the most significant TV change since the introduction of color. Tens of millions of Americans need an upgrade to go digital. To ease the burden, the government set aside $1.5 billion to subsidize devices that make old TVs digital-capable. The converter boxes are slated to hit retail shelves early next year. For a handful of manufacturers, including the owners of the RCA and Zenith brands, the converter boxes offer a potential multibillion-dollar market opportunity and a chance to reunite a faded brand with millions of TV watchers. The potential market is sizable because more than 69 million TV sets, by some estimates, rely on rabbit ears or rooftop antennas. Without the converter boxes, those TV sets will be useless after Feb. 17, 2009, the mandated end to more than 70 years of U.S. analog transmissions. The majority of Americans -- who have TV sets connected to cable, satellite or other pay services -- will be unaffected, as will people with high-definition or other TVs with built-in digital tuners. The digital changeover could sow confusion because the converter boxes have to be able to work with TVs spanning decades. Technical glitches could frustrate converter-box buyers, many of whom are expected to be older or not tech-savvy.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119206565394155496.html?mod=todays_us_marketplace
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