A new survey reckons that two thirds of the UK population are not aware that analogue TV signals will be turned off between 2008 and 2012, meaning that if you don't have digital telly by then, you won't have any telly at all. Now, you could argue that the ignorant people have only themselves to blame - if only they'd subscribed to the CMU Daily they'd be fully up to speed on all things to do with television signals. But it is a worrying statistic for the government, who are very keen indeed to flog off, sorry, I meant turn off the analogue broadcast spectrum.
The survey by retailer You Met TV found that only 37% of those interviewed were aware of the analogue TV turn off. 73% didn't know when analogue signals would go in their area (if you live in the England/Scotland border region, the answer to that question is "very soon"). And only 30% of the over-60s knew about the change at all (and if my Dad is anything to go by, those over 60s with digital still turn back to analogue all the time, because they prefer the old fashioned teletext). Once aware of the change, nearly two thirds said the government or the BBC should help viewers meet the costs of making the switch to digital (ie buying the right bit of kit for their area).
Commenting on survey, You Met TV boss Daniel Green told reporters: "We discovered the majority of people don't know about the main issues surrounding digital TV. The government and the BBC face a big task to educate the British public about the switch-off, especially amongst those over 60."