Many broadcast TV channels in the Albert Lea-Austin-Rochester-Mason City market are ending their analog service today, causing local households to experience fuzzy television screens.

Research firm SmithGeiger said Thursday that about 2.2 million American households were still unprepared around the beginning of June for the switch to digital TV signals. Sponsored by the National Association of Broadcasters, the company surveyed 948 households that relied on antennas and found that 1 in 8 had not connected a digital TV or digital converter box.

“There are still people procrastinating,” said KIMT General Manager Steve Martinson. “No matter how hard we push people, there are always going to be those who wait until the last minute, but they have to be ready.”

KIMT, a CBS affiliate in Mason City, Iowa, is one of several area broadcasters shutting off its analog signal. Since February, KIMT had been running an analog and digital signal to accommodate those who hadn’t upgraded from antennae service to a digital tuner or converter in time.

“It’s exciting to get into new technology when you’re in the television business,” Martinson said. “I just hope people are prepared or else they won’t have television.”

Requests for $40 converter box coupons from the government have spiked this week, according to the Department of Commerce. On Monday alone, it received requests for 179,000 coupons, nearly twice the daily rate it saw a month ago. However, those coupons won’t get to viewers in time because it takes nine business days. Without the government discount, converter boxes generally cost between $40 and $60.

The Nielsen Co., which measures TV ratings with the help of a wide panel of households, said minority households are less likely to be prepared, as are households consisting of people under age 35. Households with people older than 55 are far more likely to be prepared than the average.

Stations will start cutting their analog signals this morning, but many will wait until this evening. For instance, KIMT will be shutting off their analog signal at 10 minutes after noon. Nearly half of all U.S. stations have already ended analog transmissions, though most big-city stations have held off until today.

At stores that sell electronics, converter boxes are flying off the shelves.

In Minneapolis, DTV Assistance Centers and the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund will be in a park on Friday to help residents who need help with the transition.

The Nielsen Co. said Wednesday that an estimated 46,000 households in the Twin Cities are completely unprepared for the switch from analog to digital.

About a third of Minnesota TV stations turned off their analog signals by the previous deadline in February.

The shutdown of analog channels frees up the airwaves for modern applications like wireless broadband and TV services for cell phones. It was originally scheduled for Feb. 17, but the government’s fund for $40 converter box coupons ran out of money in early January, prompting the incoming Obama administration to push for a delay. The converter box program got additional funding in the national stimulus package.

— The Associated Press contributed to this report.