Getting a jump start on the upcoming digital television shift, Best Buy announced today that it has stopped selling analog TVs and has pulled all stock from its shelves. Best Buy is the first consumer electronics retailer to halt sales of analog sets.
Best Buy says it wants to reduce consumer confusion about the upcoming broadcasting shift to digital, which is scheduled for February 2009. At that time, broadcasters will cease transmitting analog signals. Analog TV sets not hooked up to satellite or cable will no longer work unless they are attached to a special converter box. The goverment plans to give each household two coupons worth $40 each to buy converter boxes. The digital signal will provide better reception as well as improved image and audio quality.
More than 60 million US households still use antennas or analog cable, and cable operators are required to give customers broadcast access until 2012.
Best Buy does not yet sell the coupon-eligible converter boxes (it will starting in 2008), but it sure does sell digital televisions. Nothing like pro-actively nudging consumers to the higher priced digital TV sets in the meantime.
By the way, have you caught the new TV series Chuck on NBC? The show’s electronics store setting is called “Buy More” and it has a “Nerd Herd,” a thinly veiled reference to Best Buy and its service segment Geek Squad. Pretty funny and the show’s not half bad either.
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