(Posted 06/03/2009)   FCC says it's more prepared now, and if they had done the transition on February 17 as originally planned it would have been "a debacle that made New Coke marketing look like a genius." 

(Posted 5/27/2009)  From the Chicago Tribune's "Tower Ticker" blogger, Phil Rosenthal.

(Posted 5/13/2009)

The newest spots are all available to download through an FTP server. They include:

• Fully produced "Hooking Up Converter Box" spot
• Fully produced "Antenna" spot
• Fully produced "Rescanning" spot
• Fully produced "Countdown" spots
• Fully produced "How to Upgrade" spot

Links to download all spots, along with scripts, are available at www.dtvanswers.com/actionspots.

(**Note: In the past, some stations did have technical issues with the closed captioning getting stripped from the spots when they were dumped into editing systems. Please have traffic managers/producers check to make sure that the captioning is still present before these spots are placed in rotation.**)

Ordering Tapes/DVDs of Spots and 30-Minute Program
NAB is unable to fulfill requests for tape and/or DVD copies of the latest spots and new 30-minute program. Tape dubs can be ordered through our authorized provider, Video Labs. The cost is approximately $40-50 per tape, plus shipping. Contact information is listed below. If Anna Greene is unavailable, you can also ask for Valerie Yoscak or Mary Price.

Anna Greene
Video Labs
(301) 217-0000
agreene@videolabs.net

(Posted 5/13/2009)  The FCC is currently working to organize a nationwide analog soft shut-off test on May 21. The agency recommends that stations conduct three separate tests, at approximately 7:25 to 7:30 a.m., 12:25 to 12:30 p.m., and 6:25 to 6:30 p.m. local time that day, running for approximately two to five minutes. However, there is an understanding that stations may need some flexibility regarding the time of day and length of the test. The FCC is also using this May 21 test day as a training exercise for its DTV call center, and it has staffed up its facilities accordingly.

NAB fully supports this initiative and encourages stations to participate in a test on that day, if at all technically feasible, to attract attention to the fast-approaching June 12 transition date

DPTV made an orderly transition to the Digital side on April 16.

(Posted 3/18/2009) -- According to the FCC, 927 stations have declared that they plan to pull the plug on analog June 12, with 158 stations saying they want to switch earlier than that.

Almost half of those say they want to go April 16, the earliest the FCC will let them. Over 600 stations have already pulled the plug, but the remaining thousand-plus cover the majority of the country.

(Posted 3/17/2009)

From the PBS DTV group.

(Posted 3/4/2009) "We apportioned these funds earlier this week; coupons will start being received next week," confirmed an OMB official.

(Posted 3/4/2009) The FCC said that since it had sought comment on the 100-day countdown requirement in a comment period that does not end until March 4, and could wind up changing that requirement. It concluded it would be "confusing for viewers to see a 100-day countdown beginning on March 4, only to see a different clock in the event that "we revise the requirement soon thereafter."

(Posted 2/19/2009) If coupon crush creates hold-ups, analog-only household will move to front of line at the NTIA.

(Posted 2/18/2009) Phones are ringing steadily at the various phone banks servicing more than 400 stations that yanked their analog signals yesterday, though state broadcasting associations say it’s a manageable number.

(Posted 2/12/2009) FCC Okays 368 To Make Feb. 17 DTV Switch
Another 123 Can't Make Switch Unless Certain Conditions Met.

(Posted 02/08/2009)  Vermont Public TV and Mountain Lake PBS are ready and will make the DTV switch Feb 17 as planned.

(Posted 02/06/2009) -- No other big country has dared to, or plans to, end its analog TV broadcasts all in one go.

(Posted 2/03/2009)  From APTS --

A few minutes ago, the House passed S. 352, the DTV Delay Act, by a voice vote. This is the bill that the Senate passed under unanimous consent on Thursday and, therefore, this Act will be sent to President Obama for his signature.

The Act moves the transition date to June 12, 2009, but preserves the right of stations to terminate analog prior to that date as long as stations follow the rules established by the FCC. The Act also extends the coupon program until July 31, 2009, and requires the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to issue, upon request, replacement coupons for each coupon that expires without being redeemed.

APTS will alert you when the FCC and NTIA promulgate rules to implement the provisions of this Act.

Thank you.

(Posted 02/02/2009)  Tuesday February 3, the House of Representatives will vote on whether the transition to digital broadcast television will be delayed, setting off a new scramble by broadcasters to adjust to a changing DTV switch deadline.

(Posted 1/30/2009)   The latest version of the DTV date-changing bill approved by the Senate last night has no additional funding for the DTV-to-analog converter box coupon program

(Posted 1/30/2009) ...

Obama *Will* Sign the DTV Delay Bill, if he ever gets one.

He wants more time to ensure that people don't lose their television signals.

(posted 1/28/2009) 

(Posted 1/26/2009) From Reuters UK

(Posted 1/26/2009)  From PC World

(Posted 1/25/2009) From the Washington Post.

(Posted 1/19/2009)  Managers Believe Digital Delay Would Protract the Pain

(Posted1/19/2009) From the Associated Press.

Posted 1/16/2009 from Broadcasting & Cable

Posted 1/16/2009

Posted 1/16/2009

(Posted 1/16/2009)  From the Washington Post.

Posted 1/14/2009 -- Some in Congress Warn That Industry Groups, Consumers Already Assume Switch Will Be Postponed

Posted 1/14/2009 -- Some Lawmakers to Join Obama's Call to Push Back Deadline

Posted 01/14/2009 --  Delaying changeover date to give viewers more time to prepare could hurt broadcasters.

Posted 01/14/2009 --  Hill source says Energy & Commerce Committee looking to postpone Feb. 17 DTV transition, free up money for converter-box coupons

(Posted 1/12/200)   LAS VEGAS (AP) — Postponing the turnoff of analog TV broadcasts beyond the scheduled date, Feb. 17, could confuse consumers, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission Kevin Martin warned Saturday.

(Posted 1/12/2009)   The new chairman of the House Telecommunications & Internet Subcommittee--Democrat Rep. Rick Boucher of Virginia--has not yet endorsed any of the DTV fixes being proposed by the Obama administration or his fellow Democrats.

(Posted 1/12/2009) Consumer Electronics Association President Gary Shapiro, in an open letter today to Obama Transition Team Co-chair John Podesta, argued against delaying the Feb. 17 analog cut-off date.

(Posted 1/12/2009)  How did the Feb. 17 "hard date" suddenly become soft?

Posted 1/09/2008.  The so-called Big Four networks aren't opposed to the delay.

Posted 1/09/2008 -- Op-Ed piece by William Kennard and Michael Powell.

Posted 1/09/2008

Posted 1/09/2008 -- from Associated Press

Posted 1/09/2008 -- Opinion piece by Harry Jessel, TV Newsday.

( Posted 1/8/2009)   Citing the public's lack of readiness, President-elect Barack Obama is urging Congress to postpone the Feb. 17 switch from analog to digital television broadcasting.

(Posted 1/06/2008) -- Broadcasters have asked the FCC to expand the number of stations eligible to continue an "analog nightlight" signal for 30 days past the Feb. 17 DTV transition date, as well as streamlining the process for applying to remain on the air.

(Posted 1/04/2008)  The converter coupon program is about to hit its funding ceiling, unless Congress acts fast.

(Posted 12/23/2008) --  The White House confirms that the president signed the DTV nightlight bill into law today, Dec. 23.

TV stations who are able to will get an extra 30 days past the Feb. 17, 2009 DTV transition date to broadcast emergency and DTV education information on their analog channels.

(Posted 12/16/2008) Washington -- All major U.S. cable operators have agreed to stop moving nearly all channels from analog to digital tiers during the first two months of 2009 to minimize potential consumer confusion about the federally mandated shut off of over-the-air analog TV signals on Feb. 17, 2009.

(Posted 12/14/2008)  WKNO's president Mike LaBonia talks about readiness for February's DTV switch. 

(Posted 12/11/208) The legislation allows for the short-term(30-days) continued analog broadcast of essential information after the Feb. 18, nationwide transition to digital television, including broadcasts of emergency information.

(Posted 12/10/2008)  At a meeting in Washington last Friday (12/5/08) , Obama transition team officials demanded that broadcasters and cable operators establish or help fund call centers to handle the anticipated flood of complaints and questions in the wake of the analog cut-off on Feb. 17, 2009.

(Posted 12/10/2008) Less than 8 percent of the Detroit DMA is still completely unready for the DTV transition taking place on Feb. 17, 2009. This translates to 146,000 households.
The Detroit Area Television Stations are going to help viewers figure that out with a series of soft-tests called, "Test Your TV Tuesday."

Test Your TV Tuesday will begin on Dec. 16 and will air every Tuesday until Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2009.

(Posted 11/18/2008)  The NTIA  is giving $2.7 million to the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging to help senior citizens make the transition to digital.

(Posted 11/18/2008)    The bill would require broadcasters to transition their primary channel feeds to digital by Feb. 17, but would allow, though not require, them to continue to broadcast DTV-education information and emergency information in analog for 30 days past the Feb. 17, 2009 date.

(Posted 11/11/2008) TV stations in Pennsylvania will hold a statewide analog cut-off test, the largest such test to date, next week.  But will the 2/17/2009 deadline hold? 

(Posted 11/07/2008)    According to the Government Accounting Office, oversight for the DTV transition should be one of the Obama administration's top priorities.

(Posted 11/5/2008)  Chicago stations are planning a “soft shutdown” of their analog signals for next Wednesday, Nov. 12.

(Posted 11/04/2008)  --   Nielsen said Tuesday that the number of TV households "completely unready" for the DTV switch declined from 8.4% of TV households in September to 7.7%, the biggest decline in the past six months.

(Posted 10/22/2008)  And the first one is: "Do you support non-profit organizations—such as public broadcasting stations or community groups—asking members of their organizations or other concerned individuals to apply and obtain coupons and then donate their coupons or converter boxes purchased with those coupons so that these resources may be distributed to consumers..."

(Posted 10/17/2008)  First there was the $350,000 NASCAR sponsorship, now comes word that the FCC has bought $1 million worth of advertising in AARP publications.

(Posted 10/15/2008) -- The most unprepared market is Houston, with 15.8% unprepared, while the most prepared market is Fort Myers-Naples, FL, with only 2.4% unprepared, according to Nielsen.

(Posted 10/14/2008) -- The FCC has released a Public Notice reminding TV stations to update their FCC Form 387 DTV Transition Status Reports by October 20, 2008.  If you will recall, these Reports were filed by stations earlier this year (and updated in July) outlining the steps remaining for the stations to complete the transition to DTV

(Posted 10/14/2008)

(Posted 10/02/2008)

(Posted 9/17/2008) The 30- and 60-second PSAs, produced in English and Spanish, convey basic information regarding the transition and steps consumers must take to prepare. Copies were distributed to 1,368 full powered commercial English-language stations as well as 100 Spanish-language stations.

(Posted 9/17/2008)  Federal Communications Commission chairman Kevin Martin asked that retail stores carry EchoStar's $40 digital-TV-to-analog converter box, saying that none of the major retailers was carrying the low-cost boxes.

 
The box would be essentially free with the government's $40 subsidy coupon, but the boxes are not yet widely available in stores, Martin said.

(Posted 9/4/2008) -- At press time, the Federal Communications Commission was making tentative plans for a symbolic Wilmington, N.C., switch-throwing event -- by native North Carolinian and FCC chairman Kevin Martin.

But it was also keeping a weather-eye out for tropical storm Hanna and hurricanes Ike and Josephine lined up in the Atlantic. That’s in case the early analog cutoff by Wilmington TV stations scheduled for Sept. 8 has to be postponed

(Posted 9/2/2008)   On Nov. 17 at 6:25 p.m., TV stations across the state will either cease operation on their analog transmitter, leaving the viewer with a snowy screen or will broadcast a message to the effect that "if you are watching this message, you or your pay provider are not ready for Feb. 17, 2009 — the date analog television ends." The test will last for 60 seconds.

(posted August 22, 2008) The Federal Communications Commission approved a waiver to its must-carry rules for certain smaller cable operators, under which those operators will not be required to retransmit digital broadcast signals for three years after next February’s transition by full-power TV stations to all-digital broadcasts, according to the American Cable Association.

The new rules, supported by FCC chairman Kevin Martin, apply to all cable systems regardless of channel capacity that have 2,500 subscribers or fewer and are not owned by Comcast or Time Warner.

(Posted August 18, 2008)   Hey, honey - get the door! If you live in a television market in which more than 100,000 households or at least 15 percent of the households rely solely on over-the-air signals for television, an FCC commissioner may be coming to visit.
 

(Posted August 14, 2008)  Yeah, this is what we dreamed of, when we saw the potential of digital television.  Vintage reruns and other inexpensive shows are hot again, as stations and programmers rush into a potentially important new business: multicast networks.

(Posted August 14, 2008) Four commercial stations in Wilmington, N.C., site of the earliest complete switch to digital signals, will turn off their analog signals for one minute starting at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 19

(Posted 11 August 2008)  A new study from APTS finds consumer awareness of the digital television transition is at an all time high, but many over-the-air households are slow to take the steps necessary to continue to view television when analog signals cease.

(Posted 7/29/2008) The House Energy & Commerce Committee chairman is concerned that National Telecommunications and Information Administration will not have enough administrative funds to reprocess unredeemed DTV converter coupons.

(Popsted 7/28/2008)  Broadcasters and advertisers have joined forces to prepare the advertising community for the Feb. 17, 2009, transition to digital television, forming a coalition and unveiling a new initiative: "The DTV Transition: Keeping the Ad Community in the Loop."

(Posted July 17, 2008)

(Posted July 10, 2008) Many U.S. households have begun exploring concrete steps to help them make the switch to digital television that will take place in February.

(Posted July 1, 2008)   Viva, Puerto Rico!

(Posted 6/19/2008) Bill would free up "leftover funds" from the DTV-to-analog converter box program to help assist senior citizens minorities and rural viewers in preparing for and making the transition. And it would make funding available to help low-power broadcasters make the switch to digital.

(Posted 6/19/2008)  PBS' Kelly Chmilewski and WHYY's Lauren Sullivan were part of a half-day of panels at Promax 08 gathered to discuss the pluses and minuses underscoring the digital transition, including "Strategies for Marketing to At-Risk Audiences" and the creative and strategic tools needed to meet the National Association of Broadcasters' goal of 100 percent awareness for every single TV home.

(Posted 6/19/2008)  FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein encouraged television stations to take a drastic step in order to alert viewers to the government-mandated transition from analog to digital set for Feb. 17, 2009: Pull the plug on all the sets in your DMA—but just for a minute or so.

(Posted 6/11/2008)  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. officials are facing a potential glitch in a program designed to help television viewers make the switch to digital TV next year.

A Commerce Department official told House lawmakers that more money might be needed to mail out all the $40 government coupons that will be available to subsidize converter boxes that some TV owners will need for the February 2009 switchover.

(Posted 6/10/2008)   About 34% of all U.S. households are at risk of losing broadcast reception to at least one TV set as a result of the digital transition next February if no action is taken, according to the Leichtman Research Group.

(Posted 6/10/2008)  KPHO/Phoenix has scheduled the "CBS 5 DTV Test Day" on June 12 during all its newscasts. The test will instantly let viewers know if their TV is compatible with the upcoming digital transition.

(Posted 6/10/2008)   At a hearing on the DTV transition in the House Telecommunications & Internet Subcommittee Monday, Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) said he thought the city would be willing to be the second city to pull the plug on analog early.

(Posted 6/06/2008)  NAB polled 501 Wilmington, NC TV viewers and found that almost 9 out of 10 (89%) were aware that there was going to be a digital transition. That was the good news.

The bad news was that only 18% of the viewers were aware that Wilmington was pulling the plug early, though NAB concedes that response was likely attributable to the fact that the test was only announced a few weeks ago.

(Posted 6/03/2008) Federal Communications Commission member Jonathan Adelstein told B&C he has talked with broadcasters about setting up more short-term tests of the analog cutoff similar to ones conducted and or planned by stations in Las Vegas and Orlando, Fla

(Posted 5/30/2008) Idea: After 02/17/20008, at least one TV station in each market should stay on the air in analog to broadcast a slide or a looping video that tries to explain to left-behind viewers what happened to the analog signals.

(Posted May 27, 2008) The New York Times says nearly 25 million homes have at least one television set that will stop functioning in nine months, when the nation converts to digital over-the-air television.

(Posted 5/23/3008)

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said that, as a consumer-friendly policy, he would favor allowing viewers to reapply for coupons good for $40 toward the purchase of a DTV-to-analog converter box. The boxes will be required for analog-only TV sets to continue to receive a DTV signal after the transition to digital in February 2009.

(Posted May 16, 2008)  NAB asks NTIA to expedite Converters for Wilmington,NC, where the
September 8 DTV test switch-over will happen.
  
Concerned that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration is bogged down with DTV-to-analog converter-box-coupon requests, NAB president David Rehr asked NTIA acting head Meredith Attwell Baker to make requests from Wilmington a priority. 

(Posted 5/15/2008)  From the News & Observer newspaper, an op-ed column by Tom Howe,
director and general manager of UNC-TV, the statewide public television network serving North Carolina.

(Posted May 15, 2008) In a letter to FCC chairman Kevin Martin , they argued that manufacturers are knowingly selling products that will soon be obsolete because they do not contain automatic software-upgrade capability (think of computers and online-delivered patches and software upgrades).

(Posted May 15, 2008)

(Posted 5/08/2008) 
The DTV transition is no big deal, LIN Television CEO Vince Sadusky told securities analysts this morning.

“I strongly believe that from a viewership perspective this is largely going to be a Y2K event,” he said during the conference call.

Ninety percent of homes receive their broadcast signals via cable or satellite and so will be “In the worst case scenario, you will have a few…grandmothers out there who will wake up and not have their TVs working…[but] they’ll have a resolution within a few days,” he said.

(Posted 5/08/2008) --

The first of the analog blackouts is scheduled for June 25 at 7:59 p.m., according to the consortium of cooperating stations, all in the Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne market (DMA 19).

In advance of each test, the stations will promote the test and explain why it is being done.

On each participating station’s digital broadcasts, and on cable and satellite systems that receive direct feeds from the station, the station will notify viewers that they have successfully passed the test. 

At the conclusion of each test, stations will notify viewers that if their screen went blank they need to take corrective action and should try again during the next scheduled test.

Also, during the test broadcasts, each station will provide information to help viewers who need to take corrective action and resources for additional DTV transition assistance.

“One of the biggest questions viewers have is ‘will this affect me?’ This test will answer that,” says consortium spokesperson Richard Monn, chief engineer for Hearst-Argyle Television’s WESH/WKCF.

“To the best of our knowledge, the market-wide test we’re proposing has not been utilized or attempted by any other alliance of broadcasters in the country.” 

In addition to WESH and WKCF, participating stations include, WKMG (Post-Newsweek), WFTV/WRDQ (Cox), WCEU (Daytona Beach Community College District), WMFE (Community Communications Inc.), WVEN (Entravision), WOTF (Univision), WTGL (Good Life Broadcasting) and WBCC (Brevard Community College).

(Posted May 1, 2008)  The NAB and the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) launched a nationwide contest Thursday to help over-the-air viewers make the switch to digital television. The “Rabbit Ears Pioneers” competition will search for the most interesting stories, memories and anecdotes from individuals who receive over-the-air broadcast TV signals using an antenna on an older analog television set.

(Posted 4/25/2008)   Collecting unused DTV coupons, purchasing converter boxes, and
getting them into the hands of the neediest /most at-risk members of the community.

(Posted April 24, 2008)   17 million households have an analog TV that receives its signals over the air — 13 million of them use a rabbit-ear antenna. That means that not only do they have to buy a digital converter box; they may have to buy a new antenna.

(Posted April 14, 2008) In his annual assessment of the state of the association—and the industry—NAB President David Rehr exhorts broadcasters to take full advantage of the many opportunities digital transmission offers to reinvigorate broadcasting.

(Posted April 11, 2008)  Op-ed piece from TV Newsday's editor and publisher Harry Jessell.
Broadcasters still aren't making the most of their opportunities to promote themselves as the country's best post-analog television option.

(Posted April 9, 2008) WASHINGTON -- With broadcast TV stations preparing to switch to all-digital signals early next year, about 5.3 million U.S. households have taken the government up on its offer of discount coupons for a gadget to ensure their sets will continue to get the picture.

Each U.S. household is eligible for two $40 coupons toward the purchase of converters that sell for about $60, and most have asked for the maximum. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration said Tuesday that 10 million coupons had been requested since the program began Jan. 1.

(posted 4/07/2008) The NAB Show announced Monday a series of sessions and panels focusing on the upcoming transition to digital television. A joint session, titled "The Buck Stops Here! DTV Transition Best Practices," will be one of the highlights in the NAB Show's schedule of DTV-related discussions on topics ranging from consumer education to technology requirements to regulatory compliance.

(Posted 4/4/2008) Technical challenges remain for over-the-air viewers in the DTV transition and there’s no federal funding for the solutions, Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., said Thursday.

Boucher, a member of the House Telecommunications and Internet Subcommittee, said that even if there are enough coupons for everyone who wants a DTV converter box, some viewers will have difficulties installing the boxes and may not be able to easily resolve reception problems.

“We have absolutely no provision of federal help for technical assistance.” Boucher said at the Consumer Electronics Association Washington Forum.

(posted 4/4/2008) - One of the monthly DTV information articles created for WKNO members.

(posted 4/4/2008) - One of the monthly DTV information articles created for WKNO members.

(posted 4/4/2008) - One of the monthly DTV information articles created for WKNO members.

(posted 4/4/2008) - One of the monthly DTV information articles created for WKNO members.

(Posted April 3, 2008) To encourage baby boomers to help their elderly parents, relatives, and neighbors get ready for February’s digital television conversion, the Consumer Electronics Association enlisted actress Florence Henderson, best known for her role as Carol Brady on The Brady Bunch, to launch the Convert Your Mom public awareness campaign.

(Posted 3/27/2008)

(Posted 3/26/2008) The Community Broadcasters Association said Wednesday that it was filing a court action (a writ of mandamus) in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit against the Federal Communications Commission to prevent the "the marketing of DTV converter boxes that block analog signals."

(Posted 3/20/2008) NBCU's VP of technology standards, policy and strategy talks about what's left to do as the digital TV conversion approaches, including dealing with aspect ratios on analog sets, loudness, white-space devices and proposed legislation to exempt stations near the Mexican border from the analog shutoff deadline.

(posted 3/20/2008)  An Association of Public Television Stations survey finds that 62% of over-the-air consumers prefer free broadcast television after the DTV transition. Also, consumer awareness is up to 76.4%.

(Posted 3/20/08)  From TEAMSoper

(Posted 3/20/2008)

(Posted 3/17/2008) Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.), the relatively new ranking member on the House Telecommunications & Internet Subcommittee, said he favors a test market for the digital-TV transition.

"Whenever industry starts a new idea, whether a restaurant, hotel, or marketing a new product, they do a test-market first to see if there is any problem," he said. "I think chairman Martin is wise to set up a demonstration and roll it out in a transitional period. You can take all of the glitches and stop them so that when you go across the United States, you don't have those glitches."

(Posted 3/14/2008) (AP) Public television station WNIT has asked the Federal Communications Commission for permission to go all-digital nearly a year early after losing its analog signal.

(Posted 3/13/2008)  From the DTV office at PBS HQ

(Posted 3/13/2008)  From TEAMSoper

(Posted 3/13/2008)   Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va.) said he will introduce legislation to take money from the Federal Communications Commission's 700-megahertz spectrum auction to help pay for more digital-TV-to-analog converter boxes

(Posted 3/13/2008) 

NAB President-CEO David Rehr criticized Community Broadcasters Association officials who were reported by Communications Daily to be threatening to "disrupt efforts to educate viewers about the [digital television] transition if their concerns aren't dealt with."


See the CBA's Website, KEEPUSON.com

(Posted 3/6/2008)   From TEAMSoper.

(Posted 3/402008)   Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, today signed on as a cosponsor of S. 2607. The purpose of the bill is to better facilitate the digital television transition for rural Americans. It would do so by making funds available sooner for digital upgrades to low-power television stations and translators in rural areas. The measure was originally sponsored by Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine)

(Posted 3/4/2008)   The FCC today released an order requiring TV stations to air PSAs, crawls and other notices that educate the public about the DTV transition and the end of analog TV service next February.

(Posted 2/29/2008)  According to sources, Meredith Atwell Baker, acting head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and point person on the government's digital-TV-to-analog converter-box-coupon subsidy program, is exiting that post.

(Posted 2/28/2008)  Richard Chernock, CTO of Triveni Digital, is leading the effort at the ATSC to develop a standard for "non-real-time services" that will allow broadcasters to offer near-on-demand news and weather, to target ads and to download TV shows, movies and music.

(Posted 2/22/2008)  The Federal Communications Commission is planning to lay out a new, more flexible set of guidelines for broadcasters, cable companies and television manufacturers as they try to educate consumers about the coming switch from analog to digital programming.

(Posted 2/22/2008)  The National Telecommunications and Information Administration authorized its first online retailer for digital-TV-to-analog converter boxes.

(Posted 2/19/2008) NAB joins CEA in AntennaWeb partnership

“Since its inception, AntennaWeb.org has been CEA’s most popular online consumer resource,” said Gary Shapiro, CEA’s president and CEO. “We’re thrilled to partner with NAB to deliver a new site with even more capacity and educational content as well as a new look and feel, so consumers can easily find the information they need to learn how to receive free, over-the-air television.”

(Posted 2/19/08)   A group of commercial and noncommercial stations in Sioux Falls and Rapid City are airing a roadblock of DTV transition educational spots three days a month every month until January 2009.

(Posted 2/07/2008) Former Federal Communications Commission Media Bureau chief Ken Ferree said the FCC would be making a mistake by mandating broadcaster digital-TV-education public-service announcements. 

(Posted 2/07/2008) A Best Buy store in northwest Washington, D.C., set the stage Thursday for the kickoff of the digital-TV converter-box-coupon program in an event that looked for all the world like the Yalta conference. It didn’t quite rise to the level of the allied powers convening to decide the fate of the post-war world, but it did unite the major players involved in the switch from analog to digital in the TV world.

The National Association of Broadcasters is reaching out to DTV-to-analog converter-box manufacturers asking them to incorporate analog pass-through capacity in their boxes and pledging to produce TV spots to inform viewers that not all analog signals will be cut off Feb. 17, 2009.

(posted January 17, 2008)  An APTS study finds 43% of over-the-air households reject post-transition pay TV, instead preferring to receive free, over-the-air digital television. It also finds increased awareness of the 2009 switch to digital.

Hello, everyone.

Beginning this week (1/7/2008), PBS will post stories about DTV, the transition,
the FCC and related issues culled from a variety of sources. We hope this regular
news roundup will be a helpful source for you in your efforts to keep abreast of
what’s happening in the industry as it relates to the DTV transition.

In addition to posting these articles in Systemwide Info on the PBS Forums,
they will be forwarded directly to the inboxes of those on the DTV News & Information
email list.

If you’d like your name added to this direct email list, please send an email to
dtv@pbs.org with the word “subscribe” in the Subject line. (You can unsubscribe at any
time by sending an email with the word “unsubscribe” in the subject line.)

Thanks,
The PBS DTV Transition Team

Thomas W. Crockett
Senior Director, Member Affairs
PBS
2100 Crystal Drive
Arlington, VA 22202
(p) 703-739-5434 (f) 703-299-2997
tcrockett@pbs.org
________________________________________
Posted: 07 Jan 2008 04:46 PM

(Posted 01/03/2008)  Digital-TV converter-box-coupon orders are already growing like those McDonald’s hamburger tallies.

More than 500,000 people requested more than 1 million $40 coupons toward the purchase of DTV-to-analog converters in the first 40 or so hours of the program, according to National Telecommunications & Information Administration spokesman Todd Sedmak.

(Posted 01/02/2008)

How prepared are the government and the broadcast industry for the changeover?

How aware is the public of the transition?

Who is most likely to be affected by the change?

What technical issues need to be resolved before the transition happens?

Preparedness is a point of contention in the government. A Dec. 11 report by the US Government Accountability Office criticized the Federal Communications Commission and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration for their handling of the matter. The GAO concluded that "no comprehensive plan exists for the DTV transition."

(Posted 1/2/2008)  Washington – The Federal Communications Commission is considering whether to conduct the digital TV transition in a few test markets before the national cutoff of analog TV on Feb. 17, 2009, FCC Democrat Michael Copps said in a statement Monday.

“I recognize there may be legal, technical, and practical challenges with planning and conducting such a test this close to the national transition date. But I believe it can be done,” Copps said, without suggesting any times, dates, and locations.

(Posted 1/01/2008)  The FCC is requiring all TV stations to complete a new form that details its progress toward meeting the Feb. 17, 2009, analog cutoff

(Posted 1/01/2008) The NTIA will start taking requests for discounts on converter boxes Tuesday. In 2009, analog will be history.

Via a toll-free hotline and a website, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, an office within the US Commerce Department, will begin accepting applications for coupons worth $40 off a no-frills converter box to allow older televisions to receive digital broadcast signals.

(Posted 1/1/2008) -- You may have never heard of Meredith Atwell Baker, former deputy assistant secretary at the National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA), but she is in the digital hot seat. As acting assistant secretary for communications and information, it's her responsibility to administer the distribution of millions of $40 coupons the government will issue to consumers to be used toward the purchase of DTV-to-analog converter boxes.

(Posted 12/17/2007)  TVFool.com has a nifty online tool that allows you to instantly find and browse the coverage map for any transmitter.

Have you ever wondered what television signals are being broadcast in your area?  Perhaps you've recently purchased a new HDTV and you're looking for some High Definition content.  Or maybe you're just looking for some additional sources to compliment your existing cable and/or satellite services.  Well, here's a tool that can analyze your location to help determine what FREE broadcasts might be available in your neighborhood.

This tool can help answer questions like

 - Which broadcasters are transmitting locally?
 - How far are the transmitters from me?
 - Which direction should I point my antenna?
 - How strong are the signals in my area?
 - What analog and digital channels are available?

(From the Associated Press / LA Times / 12/12/2007)  WASHINGTON -- Retailers will begin selling equipment to allow the owners of analog television sets to continue to watch over-the-airwaves broadcasts after the nationwide switch to digital broadcasting in 2009, the government said Tuesday.

Starting Jan. 1, 13 million to 21 million households that rely on an antenna to watch TV can contact the government to receive two coupons worth $40 each to buy converter boxes. The $1.5-billion program will end March 31, 2009. The devices, which translate the digital signal for such TV sets, will hit store shelves in mid-February.

(10/31/07) - WGBH President and CEO Jonathan Abbott today urged Congress to invest in a grassroots campaign to ensure that no American is left behind as the nation completes the digital conversion. Abbott said: “The key policy goal of this transition must be the preservation of free, over-the-air television, both commercial and public. It is essential to the health of this nation’s media marketplace, and our democracy.”

(10/15/07) The Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet will hold a hearing on Wednesday, October 17, 2007, at 9:30 a.m. in room 2123 Rayburn House Office Building. The hearing is entitled “Status of the DTVTransition—Part 2.”

The committee will question witnesses on the status of the rapidly approaching digital television transition, as well as the consumer education program and plans for an auction to sell the spectrum vacated by analog television post-transition. After Feb. 17, 2009, analog televisions not connected to a converter box, cable or satellite will go dark because they will be unable to receive digital signals.

(10/15/07) The Association of Public Television Stations (APTS) and PBS announced the next phase of Public Television’s campaign to educate viewers about the fast-approaching mandatory DTV transition. Public Television’s efforts will focus on the hard-to-reach households that receive television only through over-the-air signals.

(10/15/07) Television broadcasters plan to invest the equivalent of $697 million to educate the American public on the upcoming switch to digital TV transmission.

The National Association of Broadcasters detailed what it described as a “multi-platform, multifaceted campaign”at a press conference in Washington October 15, 2007.