DTV box sales "plummet" – surpise, surprise

dtv-boxRemember the big technology story of the first half of the year? Analog signals were suppose to be shut-off on February 17, but Obama saved millions of households from their procrastination by delaying it a few months. But eventually on June 12, those signals were turned off. You have to imagine that retailers moved loads of analog to digital converter boxes through the shut-off date. Not many have likely been sold since though, which is why *gasp* sales have plummeted.

In-Stat is reporting that sales in the year’s second quarter dropped 35% from Q1. That’s a lot, but it also shows that a lot of people were ready for the switch-off before it happened. Sure, some folks probably delayed purchasing a DTV box for a vacation home or hunting lodge after the fact. Maybe even some people bought a box after calling it quits on pay TV service like cable or satellite. But the vast majority of people that needed one, got one before they couldn’t watch the Simpsons anymore.