With eight months to go before the nation transitions to all-digital television (DTV) broadcasting, awareness among America's most at-risk population—broadcast-only Hispanic households—has tripled.

The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) last week released a new poll that found 88 percent of Hispanic households were aware that television broadcasting would be switching to a digital format, up from 74 percent in a January 2008 survey commissioned by NAB.

The results also showed a dramatic rise in awareness among the transition's most at-risk population: broadcast-only Hispanic households, meaning homes that get free reception exclusively over the air using rooftop or indoor television antennas. Of this group, 91 percent stated they knew about the upcoming switch, a significant jump from a September 2007 poll that reported only 31 percent as being aware.

The findings indicate that intense consumer outreach efforts led by broadcasters have succeeded in penetrating the Hispanic population, one of the most disproportionately affected by the transition. According to a Knowledge Networks/SRI Home Technology Monitor survey, Hispanics make up 31.8 percent of over-the-air U.S. households, and more than 40 percent of Spanish-speaking households are over the air.

Last week, DTV information was featured at Esperanza USA's annual conference and prayer breakfast in Washington, D.C., where NAB President and CEO David Rehr addressed the audience by video about the partnership between the two organizations. Esperanza has agreed to use its 10,000-strong network of Hispanic faith- and community-based agencies around the country to educate Hispanics on the switch to digital. Besides distributing literature at this week’s National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast, Esperanza is also providing DTV information in its monthly communications to members.