Analog TV Sets to go Black on June 12

After being pushed back, television stations across the country will switch to a wholly digital format Friday. The original date was set in Feb. but officials opted to push it back to June in order to better prepare people for the transition, reports The New York Times.

The Federal Communications Commission says that three million homes are totally unprepared for the switch because they have no satellite or cable subscriptions. Another nine million users who do have subscriptions may lose service on their spare televisions that are not connected to the household's network.

Officials are saying that the households most likely to be effected are "lower-income families, the elderly, the handicapped and homes where little or not English is spoken," according to The New York Times. The 49 most vulnerable markets include most major US cities: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Boston and Dallas.

To brace for the switch, the Obama administration has set up a fully staffed call center to help citizens with technical issues they may face. There is also a Web site, www.dtv.gov that consumers can check out in order to find places to help in their area. The switch will occur on June 12.