Washington - The forthcoming transition to digital-only TV broadcasting is likely to be "messy," a member of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said on Tuesday, while Nielsen reports that more than 9 million U.S. homes are not ready for the switchover.

"The transition will be messy ... but we will get through it," Republican FCC member Robert McDowell told Reuters.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) estimates that around 15% of U.S. households use analog-only sets, and could see their screens go blank if they do not take steps to upgrade their televisions or buy a converter -- for which coupons are available from the government.

Nielsen released a report on Wednesday that found more than 9 million households are totally unprepared for the transition, and another 12.6 million households would lose reception on at least one of their televisions.

The number of fully unprepared homes fell 1.4% between May and September, and now stands at 8.4%.

The Nielsen report also found that nearly one-quarter of all 'unready' analog sets aren't being used to view regular television, but instead are used for video game consoles, DVD and videocassette playback.

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/4ebj8 (Reuters)

http://snipurl.com/4eayi (Nielsen)