Japan Quick Poll - Have you already changed your TV set to a digital TV?

Here is the result of the quick poll we conducted on August 5-6, 2010 about diverting analogue TV to Digital TV in Japan.

Total respondents: 96,697

Question: Have you already changed your TV set to a digital TV?

Answers:

Changed already : 64.9%

Not yet                 : 33.0%

I don't have a TV set: 2.0%

The Japanese government is expecting that all households will move from analogue television sets to digital TV on July 24, 2011. However, after the implementation on December 2003, only 64.9% of the Japanese households did change their TV sets. It means that 33% will not be able to see any TV programs in a year if they will not be able to change their TV sets to digital. 

Suzu City is the first city who completed the move to digital broadcasting in Japan on July 24, 2010. Before the said move, the government conducted a test in digital broadcasting in the city twice. Further, they also delivered 4,148 pieces of digital tuner for necessary families for free. This is 23% of the total population of Suzu City. Suzu City of Ishikawa prefecture has 17, 476 citizens located in the north end of Noto Peninsula. This event will have a great impact once fully enforced nation-wide.

When digital broadcasting was first discussed around 15 years ago, there was limited internet accessibility. However, digital broadcasting opened a new way of accessing information through multimedia broadcasting wherein you can get text information while watching TV shows. These days, however, with advances in internet and mobile networks, information is readily accessible to people. Despite the 'high-definition' advantage that digital TV offers, the TV industry is still loosing its position as the primary media source, as the web continues to emerge as the main source of information. As a result, reasons for the Japanese government and TV industry to continue promoting this move from analogue to digital have decreased.

Nevertheless, the TV industry is still expecting that everyone will eventually join the move from analogue to digital TV. But then again, this move may give some people more reason not to watch TV. Even so, the results still remain to be seen.