Coupon Clipper Update

11:35 AM -- With about two months to go before full-power TV broadcasters make the transition to digital on February 17, roughly 76 percent of households that rely on over-the-air video signals have requested government-issued coupons that are good toward the purchase of digital-to-analog converter boxes.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) , the organization that heads up the program, reported that about 11 million homes that still rely on good ol’ rabbit ears have requested the $40 coupons. About 14.3 million U.S. homes use antennas to obtain their video signals, according to Nielsen data.

So far, 22 million households (obviously a figure that includes many homes that have secondary sets not connected to a cable, satellite, or telco TV services) have requested more than 41 million coupons. Nearly 17 million coupons, each worth $40 toward converter box purchases, have been redeemed, the NTIA said.

— Jeff Baumgartner, Site Editor, Cable Digital News