Digital Conversion in the United States

With the June 12, 2009 digital conversion date approaching in the United States, there have been measures taken to help consumers with the switch from analog, as well as problems that have arisen.  This page will be updated regularly, so check back often for new information. 

Educating Consumers
Testing
Awareness
Availability
Funding
Problems
Threats to Cable & Satellite Providers
Penetration Levels
 

Educating Consumers 

• The FCC issued what will be a daily DTV transition bulletin.  The "8 Days and Counting to DTV Transition" pitched the availability of free, in-home installation service available in "many markets."  The FCC said to call it for more information on where it was available (1-888-CALL-FCC) or go online to www.dtv.gov. The agency said that it was prepared, through 34 subcontractors, to handle 200,000 homes if need be to set up converter boxes, hook up antennas and even hook up VCR's to converter boxes.  Among those helping out the FCC are firefighters and AmeriCorp volunteers (Multichannel News, 06/04/2009).

• The FCC is partnering up with AmeriCorp's National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) for DTV outreach.  Forty-nine DTV at-risk markets that data suggest are the least prepared for the switchover, including Washington, D.C. (#49 on the list).  AmeriCorps volunteers (aged 18-24) will be sent into homes of target populations (minorities, elderly, the disabled) to help them connect antennas and converter boxes, or help them apply for the $40 converter box coupons.  They will also assist with community events and at walk-in help centers. 

• The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has started a campaign to educate viewers about the new DTV date (June 12).  The campaign includes:
   
   -DTV TV spots in English and Spanish that have been distributed to all stations and partner organizations reaching consumers in gas stations, airlines and auto and medical service centers
   -key DTV educational materials available in English and Spanish
   -DTV ads featured in 200 public buses across Washington, D.C. (where 20% of TV households rely on over-the-air TV)
   -DTV ads in the Capitol South metro station in D.C., and a large outdoor banner on NAB's downtown Washington building headquarters
   
   (Broadcasting & Cable, 03/02/2009, Twice, 03/02/2009).
   
• Best Buy has launched an in-store campaign to help prepare consumers for the digital switchover.  Starting on February 1, all TVs on display at Best Buy stores began running a "Blackout Prevention Day" video twice an hour.  The clip educates consumers on the digital transition and will run at least through February 18.  A script will also be read once an hour over the public address system in 83 participating Best Buy stores, urging consumers to prepare for the transition and reminding them of their options.  In addition, a DTV handout will be given to consumers and placed in bags as they leave the store, and all cashiers, Home Theater department sales staff and Geek Squad installers will wear "Blackout Prevention" T-shirts on Tuesday, February 17 (Twice, 02/03/2009).

• FCC chairman Kevin Martin is going to Ohio and Indiana for DTV outreach events.  These are analog-heavy markets (over 100,000 analog-only homes) that have been identified as needing some extra attention.  Commissioner Robert McDowell is also scheduled for two interviews at Washington-area TV stations.  He has already made several road trips to carry the message about DTV preparedness, including a stop in Alaska.  Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein will be in San Diego soon for a DTV transition town hall meeting at a local library (Broadcasting & Cable, 01/04/2009).

• The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) announced that it will create a national hotline to answer calls from viewers during the digital transition, which it estimates to be around 2 million for the five days following the switch, with up to a million on February 18.  The FCC currently has a call center staffed by at least 50, but there are concerns that there would need to be more people.  The NAB is also producing an educational DTV video that stations can loop and run on their analog channels after the transition.  The recently passed DTV nightlight bill allows broadcasters to continue an analog signal for 30 days after the switchover date for DTV education or emergency information (Broadcasting & Cable, 12/16/2008).
   
• DTV Assistance Centers will be opening in seven cities with communities considered to be "at risk" to help people prepare for the analog shutoff.  The centers will open in Atlanta, Detroit, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Portland, San Antonio, San Francisco, San Jose-Oakland, and Seattle-Tacoma.  They will be hubs for information and technical assistance on the conversion, offer training and events to provide DTV-related assistance to members of impacted populations and local community members (Twice, 12/15/2008).

• The National Telecommunications & Information Administration gave $1.65 million to the Leadership Conference On Civil Rights Education Fund for DTV education.  This money was freed up by Congress from a fund for equipment to help low-power TV stations during the transition.  Congress freed up some of that money for the converter box coupon program, in this case education and outreach (Broadcasting & Cable, 11/21/2008).

• The National Telecommunications & Information Administration announced that it is giving $2.7 million to the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging to help senior citizens switch to digital (Broadcasting & Cable, 11/18/2008).
   
• Major cable operators (Comcast, Time Warner, and Charter) have partnered up with 21 legislators from Asian Pacific, Black and Hispanic caucuses to make a DTV transition PSA that will air until February 17 (Broadcasting & Cable, 11/17/2008). 
   
• November 17 marked the three-month point until the digital switch.  To mark this date, an FCC Commissioner is holding satellite interviews with TV stations, including affiliates from the Big Four networks and a local cable news channel.  Stations include WLUK-TV Green Bay, KUSA-TV Denver, WIXN Indianapolis, WFTS-TV Tampa, KJTV-TV Lubbock, and WCPO-TV Cincinnati (Broadcasting & Cable, 11/17/2008).
   
• Zenith, a top manufacturer of digital converter boxes, is launching a website to educate consumers on how to use these boxes.  The site has video that shows how to scan for channels with a touch of a button on the box's remote control.  The video is fully captioned and also available in Spanish.  It offers instructions on how to connect a converter box to an analog TV as well (Multichannel News, 11/17/2008).

• The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) and Best Buy are partnering up on a DTV transition workshop on November 17, which is being billed at the three-month countdown to the switchover.  Best Buy stores in 25 of the largest cities will host workshops, where local broadcasters will answer questions and Best Buy employees will provide tips on converter box installation, and sell them a converter or digital TV (Broadcasting & Cable, 11/11/2008).

• Univision Communications and Telemundo will mark the 100 days remaining until the digital switch with an extensive public affairs campaign aimed at the Hispanic market.  Univision will use its telecast of the Latin Grammy Awards on November 13 to get the word out, and will integrate the message into its most popular news and entertainment shows.  PSAs featuring Univision personalities will air with increased frequency, and stations plan to hold local town hall meetings to communicate with viewers.  The network's website will have daily coverage of the issue and have technical information to help people get and use converter boxes or subscribe to cable or satellite.  Telemundo will run PSAs featuring their personalities, and will air a special on the transition on November 30.  In addition, the DTV action messages will be presented by sports anchors in the network's game coverage (Multichannel News, 11/10/2008).

• Dish Network and the Community Broadcasters Association (CBA) are partnering up to help consumers that receive their TV signals over-the-air.  They will promote and sell Dish Network's converter boxes, with a portion of the proceeds going to CBA's digital transition education efforts (TWICE, 11/05/2008).

• Christopher McLean, executive director of the Consumer Electronics Retailers Coalition (CERC), says that the lobbying group's members, which include Amazon.com, Best Buy, Circuit City, Sears, RadioShack, Target and Wal-Mart, " 'have worked to make completely effective every FCC regulation and request that has related to the transition to digital television, and we have continued to work with broadcasters and our other partners.' "  He explains that member and non-member retailers have made " 'enormous efforts to serve converter box consumers in every variety of circumstance,' " such as donating converters to charitable groups, air-freighting shipments to areas with shortages, and training volunteers to help people with home installations.  Converter boxes are now available in tens of thousands of retail stores, which is a big accomplishment for a product with a limited demand cycle  (TWICE, 10/17/2008).

• The FCC recently received $20 million from Congress for DTV education.  It is spending $1 million on advertising in AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) publications.  The $1 million gets the government a full-page in AARPs November and December bulletins, and a full page in its Winter magazine, Spanish and English-language editions, which come out in January.  The ads will include DTV converter box applications.  The AARP magazine has a circulation of 24 million, and the Spanish-language version reaches an additional 800,000  (Broadcasting & Cable, 10/16/2008).

• The FCC will sponsor NASCAR driver David Gilliland and his #38 Ford car for three Spring Cup Series races starting on October 19.  For around $350,000, the FCC will get signage on the hood, sides and back of the car, and on the driver's suit.  The hood will feature a picture of a TV set and the line: "Is your TV ready for digital."  There will also be a yellow banner with "DTV Transition Deadline: February 17, 2009" inside.  The back and sides of the car will say "DTV transition" as well.  These races will reach an average 8 million weekly TV audience, in addition to 125,000 spectators in the stands at each race (Broadcasting & Cable, 10/16/2008).

• The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) and Google are partnering up to engage online videophiles in a hands-on DTV education/aid effort.  People will be asked to post videos showing how they helped others switch to digital, whether it be connecting a cable box, buying a DTV, adjusting or buying an antenna, or subscribing to cable or satellite.  The CEA president says, " 'we hope the contest will encourage the YouTube community to spread the DTV message.' "  The contest will run through early December and the winner will receive a home theater system (Broadcasting & Cable, 10/10/2008).
   
• Fairfax County, Virginia is asking its employees to volunteer to help seniors and the disabled to make the switch to digital.  This assistance will qualify for up to 16 hours of annual paid leave employees get for volunteering.  The FCC wants more hands-on help in the digital transition.  It has partnered with firefighters, for example, to respond to cries for DTV help in Wilmington, North Carolina, and is also looking to join forces with other grass roots organizations to help people who are " 'home-bound or with limited mobility' " (Broadcasting & Cable, 10/09/2008).

• The FCC distributed PSAs and long-form video to TV stations around the country to help educate viewers on the digital transition.  The long-form video, "What is DTV, What You Need to Know, Watching DTV with a Converter Box, and Summary," provides a step-by-step guide to connecting the converter box, and explains how to re-scan for the DTV channels.  The Commission distributed copies to over 1,300 stations (Broadcasting & Cable, 09/17/2008).
   
• TV stations in Wilmington, North Carolina held a DTV expo on August 28, and the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) are planning more countdown TV spots as the analog shutdown date in that market approaches.  The NAB is also sending its TV "Trekker" road show (a truck shaped like a TV set) around the area to get the word about the transition out (Broadcasting & Cable, 08/28/2008).
   
• The NAB's DTV Transition Coalition is working with the Maryland lottery board to have DTV reminders and help-line phone numbers printed on tickets, plastered on ticket machines, and scrolling across their electronic text boards.  The Coalition is also talking to other state lottery boards about carrying the DTV messages (Broadcasting & Cable, 08/28/2008).
   
• Broadcasting & Cable and how-to video site MonkeySee.com created an online-video guide to preparing for the digital transition called "DTV Transition 101" (Broadcasting & Cable, 08/20/2008).
   
• Circuit City established a toll-free number where consumers can get information about the digital transition and receive help choosing a government-approved converter box.  The phone number connects callers to a Circuit City contact center where staff will answer consumers' questions, enable them to redeem their converter box coupons, and help them learn about other options for the DTV switchover.  The retailer has also created a special informational section on its website to help consumers with questions about the transition (TWICE, 08/20/2008).
   
• The National Association of Broadcasters is placing signs at the Denver and Minneapolis-St. Paul airports to remind attendees coming to the Republican and Democratic National Conventions that " 'We're all going digital.' "   The ads will remain there until September 10 (Broadcasting & Cable, 08/20/2008).
   
• The Federal Communications Commission identified 80 TV markets that would need some extra care and attention in the digital transition.  These are markets where at least 15% of the viewers get their TV over-the-air.  They include some of the largest markets in the U.S., such as Washington, D.C., New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Denver, Phoenix, Nashville, Atlanta, Houston, and Baltimore.  The FCC will send at least one commissioner to each of the identified markets, and the National Association of Broadcasters agreed to help coordinate analog-cutoff soft tests there too.  A Speaker's Bureau will be set up in these markets to better educate consumers about the transition (Broadcasting & Cable, 08/18/2008).  In each of the identified markets, a public event will take place, such as a town hall meeting, workshop, or roundtable with an FCC commissioner to highlight the digital transition.  Local press will also be invited.  In addition, the FCC will work with local broadcasters and radio stations to increase the broadcasts of radio and TV DTV public service announcements (Twice, 08/18/2008). 
   
• The American Association of Advertising Agencies, the Association of National Advertisers, the National Association of Broadcasters, and the Television Bureau of Advertising have formed a coalition to keep the advertising community informed about the digital transition.  The coalition plans to identify and address concerns and issues specific to the ad industry that come up as a result of the transition.  Communications will take place via e-mail, webcasts, speakers, luncheons, one-on-one meetings and the websites of the associations.  The groups are also distributing a "Frequently Asked Questions" brochure for advertising executives.  For advertisers, the switch to digital gives rise to TV ads with better picture and sound, and new targeting opportunities as stations add more programming aimed at niche interest groups and demographics (Advertising Age, 07/24/2008).
   
• The former Price Is Right host Bob Barker will be starring in new DTV public service spots to encourage viewers to upgrade to digital.  Jonathan Collegio, vice-president of National Association of Broadcasters, explains that " 'Bob Barker is an American icon who is instantly recognizable to generations both young and old.' "  Barker will also appear in TV spots aimed at Wilmington, North Carolina  (Broadcasting & Cable, 07/24/2008).
   
• According to the Federal Communications Commission, broadcasters collectively aired over 1 million DTV announcements in the last quarter.  Of these, 632,677 were PSAs and 520,652 were crawls, snipes, or tickers (Broadcasting & Cable, 07/18/2008).
   
• Tuesday, July 8, 2008 is Digital Television Day on Capitol Hill.  At this event, members of Congress and their staff will learn about the finer points of the digital TV transition and education programs, including hands-on demonstrations on how to install a converter box.  The Federal Communications Commission, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the DTV Transition Coalition, and various industries and consumer groups will be there to answer questions (Broadcasting & Cable, 07/07/2008).
   
• The Federal Trade Commission is educating consumers about the upcoming digital transition by posting a "consumer alert" on its website.  The Commission provides some consumer-alert tips for those shopping for a digital converter box (Broadcasting & Cable, 07/03/2008).
   
• Ads about the DTV transition deadline were put in bus shelters in high-traffic areas in downtown Washington, D.C., and will stay there until early August.  PSAs will also be put on cab receipts in the city.  The National Association of Broadcasters supplied 2,000 Yellow Cab receipts with the URL for the DTV Answers Web site printed on them.  Over 20% of TV households in Washington, D.C. are analog-only, one of the highest percentages in the U.S. (Broadcasting & Cable, 06/30/2008).
   
• Univision Communications launched Digital Squad (or Escuadron Digital) to educate the Hispanic community about the upcoming digital switch.  Hispanics are one of the government's target groups because a higher percentage of their households watch TV over-the-air compared with the general population.  The education effort combines on-air initiatives with "street teams" that will reach out to the community -- especially seniors and selected homes -- for one-on-one sessions on the digital switch and how it will affect Spanish-language viewers.  The teams will also show people how to set up digital converter boxes (Broadcasting & Cable, 06/10/2008).
   
• The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) will be scheduling more DTV Speakers Bureau events in Wilmington, North Carolina and send its travelling DTV Road Show to the market in August and September (Broadcasting & Cable, 06/05/2008).
   
• The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will expand its digital TV education efforts by introducing new radio PSAs, billboards, and transit ads.  The PSAs will be provided to more than 11,000 radio stations, while the billboards and transit ads will go up in 45 TV markets.  Ads are already in place in Philadelphia, Tampa, San Francisco, and Seattle.  PSAs targeted to Wilmington were also made (Broadcasting & Cable, 06/04/2008).
   
• The National Cable & Telecommunications Association, Comcast, The League of United Latin American Citizens and the Pennsylvania chapter of the National Association of the Advancement of Colored People announced a partnership to educate Pennsylvania residents about the upcoming digital conversion.  The organizations will use door-to-door advertising, presentations, and panels at regional and national conferences as well as PSAs and in-language material distribution (Multichannel News, 06/04/2008).
   
• The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) is partnering up with African-American churches to help educate people on the upcoming digital transition.  NAB president David Rehr says that the goal is to put DTV-education information in every church bulletin and to have ministers talk to their congregation about the digital switch.  Digital converter box coupons will also be handed out, and churches will train volunteers to help the elderly and disabled fill out coupon forms and install the boxes.  Brochures have already been provided to 500 churches in Washington D.C. and Virginia.  The NAB is also planning a similar effort with churches that have big Hispanic populations.  Minorities are one of the government's target groups, since a larger percentage of TV viewing in these homes is to over-the-air TV (Broadcasting & Cable, 06/03/2008).
   
• FCC staffers were in Wilmington-area retail stores (Best Buy, Circuit City and RadioShack) on May 31 to mark "100 Days to Digital" (September 8, 2008) and educate consumers on what they have to do to get ready for the switch.  There were DTV demonstrations at the stores as well as a place to sign up for digital converter box coupons (Broadcasting & Cable, 05/30/2008).
   
• Stores are required by the FCC to label analog-only TV sets to warn consumers that they will not work after the 2009 digital conversion without being connected to cable or a converter box.  The labels must be large enough to be seen and placed close to the sets.  The FCC proposed fining Toys "R" Us $248,000 and Value City $216,000 for " 'willfully and repeatedly' " violating the labeling requirement.  Value City received two previous warnings for failing to label, while Toys "R" Us received eight (Broadcasting & Cable, 05/12/2008).
   
• David Rehr, the president of the National Association of Broadcasters is trying to enlist George W. Bush for a DTV transition TV spot.  In a letter to the White House, he also suggested a DTV transition postage stamp, a DTV information link on every government agency website, DTV transition posters in post offices, and bill stuffers in Social Security cheques and payroll statements.  Rehr is asking for an administration effort similar to the Y2K campaign (Broadcasting & Cable, 05/07/2008).
   
• The National Association of Broadcasters and the Consumer Electronics Association launched a contest to get analog-only TV viewers to think about the digital transition.  People can nominate their favourite "Rabbit Ears Pioneers" with a picture and anecdote about a viewer who uses an analog set and antenna.  The grand prize winner will receive a home entertainment center, while others will get a digital converter box and digital antenna so they can continue using their older analog set (Broadcasting & Cable, 05/01/2008).
   
• David Rehr, president of the National Association of Broadcasting, says that every American household will be exposed to 642 messages on the digital TV transition and what it means by February 18, 2009.  Kyle McSlarrow, president of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association and Jack Sanders, joint board chairman of the National Association of Broadcasting, say that awareness should be close to 100% by January 1, 2009, with only a "clean up" effort needed in the last six weeks (Multichannel News, 04/14/2008).
   
• Raycom Media and Comcast's West division came together to advertise the cable operator's Lifeline package of TV networks as an alternative for over-the-air (OTA) viewers to keep seeing their local stations after the transition for a low cost.  This service includes local OTA signals, public and government signals, and in some cases, one or two satellite signals, and costs between $10 to $14 a month (Multichannel News, 04/14/2008).
   
• Advance/Newhouse Communications and Time Warner Cable are spending money on educating their consumers and their own workers, so customers and potential ones can get accurate answers on the transition.  The TV spots are being prepared in both English and Spanish (Multichannel News, 04/14/2008).
   
• The FCC handed out roughly $6.6 million in proposed fines against retailers and consumer electronics companies for either making TVs without digital tuners or failing to tell customers that the TV sets they  were buying didn't include them.  As of March 1, 2007, all new TVs were required to come with digital tuners.  The FCC allowed retailers to continue selling analog-only TVs in stock if they had a label informing consumers they wouldn't show digital over-the-air broadcasts without a set-top converter box.  The fines ranged from $168,000 to $1.1 million for seven retailers including Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Target Corp., CompUSA Inc., and Sears Holding Corp. for alleged labeling violations.  Two manufacturers, Syntax-Brillian Corp. and Precor Inc., were fined $1.26 million and $357,900, respectively, for allegedly shipping TVs that can't receive digital signals (Wall Street Journal, 04/11/2008).
   
• The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) introduced the "Convert Your Mom" DTV-education campaign, fronted by an iconic baby boomer TV mom, Florence Henderson of The Brady Bunch.  The goal is to encourage boomers to help their parents, relatives, and older neighbours with the switch to digital in 2009.   CEA president Gary Shapiro explains, " 'we know that one of the best ways to reach seniors is through their families.  With 'Convert Your Mom,' we're asking baby boomers to help make sure everyone is ready well in advance' " (Broadcasting & Cable, 04/03/2008).
   
• The National Association of Broadcasters launched a $1 billion education campaign through e-mail to ensure consumers know about the digital conversion date.  It is asking people to participate in the campaign by forwarding an e-mail with details about the digital switchover to their family, friends, and co-workers in their inbox address book (Cartt, 03/31/2008).
   
• the National Telecommunications & Information Administration has considered using Boy Scouts to help inform analog TV viewers about the digital conversion.  Converter box retailers are in talks with Boy Scout organizations about introducing a DTV transition merit badge for helping seniors with the switchover.  In addition, the FCC is talking to Meals on Wheels about delivering digital TV education along with food (Broadcasting & Cable, 02/18/2008).
   
• the FCC passed an order requiring TV stations, cable and satellite operators, telecommunication carriers, retailers and manufacturers to take steps to educate consumers about the digital conversion date.  The order includes ways to ease the transition for consumers, while giving industry groups some leeway in how they get the message across through on-air messages, notices in cable billing statements, and proper labeling and notice of the impact of the transition on TV receivers and related devices (AdWeek, 03/04/2008).
   
• FCC chairman Kevin Martin announced that he is now willing to conduct the switch to all-digital broadcast TV in a few test markets before the February 17, 2009 conversion date (Multichannel News, 03/03/2008)
   
• the FCC will give broadcasters the option of airing the required PSAs under a plan supported by the National Association of Broadcasters, instead of adhering to more rigid requirements by the commission.  FCC's plan sets out specific messages and requires stations to air them at certain times of the day.  The flexible industry plan, however, would give broadcasters more leeway in writing their own messages and allow them to educate consumers in other ways, such as attending community events (Reuters, 02/21/2008).  Broadcasters would also have to air at least 16 TV ads a week about the digital transition, four of which have to be run during prime-time hours.  In addition, the plan includes a 30-minute TV show about the transition before February 17, 2009, as well as promotional efforts like screen crawls and a 100-day countdown to the switch (Wall Street Journal, 02/22/2008).
   
• in his budget released on February 4, President George Bush proposed an additional $20 million for educating consumers about digital TV (Multichannel News, 02/04/2008)
   
• the FCC wants to approve a plan that would require broadcasters to run at least four 30-second public service ads a day about the digital conversion, with this number increasing to 12 as the deadline approaches (Wall Street Journal, 01/30/2008)
   
• broadcasters proposed an alternate plan that would have local stations air at least 12 PSAs a week and two separate ads a week on each of the Big Four and Spanish-language networks (Wall Street Journal, 01/30/2008)
   
• all TVs manufactured after March 1, 2007 are required to come with a digital tuner (Wall Street Journal, 01/30/2008)
   
• the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is offering consumers $40 coupons to help purchase digital converter boxes, which cost between $40 and $70 (Wall Street Journal, 01/10/2008)
   
• the National Association of Broadcasters launched a public awareness campaign to educate consumers on the conversion and to promote the coupon program (Los Angeles Times, 12/31/2007)
   
• the NTIA has been working with government agencies and community organizations such as the Department of Veterans Affairs and the American Association of Retired Persons to educate the elderly about the transition (Los Angeles Times, 12/31/2007)

Testing

Wilmington, North Carolina will be the first market in the United States to switch to all-digital broadcasting on September 8, 2008.  It is the 135th largest TV market with about 180,000 TV households.  Nielsen has cable and satellite TV providers servicing 92.6% of area households, so only 7.4% rely exclusively on free TV (Multichannel News, 05/07/2008). 

Meredith's KPHO Phoenix will be running a "Test Day" on June 12 to simulate the February 17, 2009 digital switch.  On the day of the test, viewers with compatible TVs will continue to see the newscasts on the station, while those with non-compatible sets will get information on how to convert.  The test can be seen during the morning news (4:30am to 7am), as well as newscasts at noon, 5pm, 6:30pm, and 10pm  (Broadcasting & Cable, 06/10/2008).

To read about KVBC Las Vegas' recent analog-shutdown test, click here. 

To read about the DTV test in Orlando, Florida, click here. 

KTXA Dallas-Fort Worth will conduct a test of the switch from analog to digital to help viewers determine if their TVs are ready for the switch.  The station's analog transmitter will be shut off for 15 seconds between 7pm and 9pm on July 23.  Tech experts will be standing by to handle calls and e-mails from viewers with any questions (Broadcasting & Cable, 07/16/2008).

Hearst-Argyle Television stations in Fort Smith/Fayetteville, Arkansas will run simulated shutoffs of their analog signals starting now and continuing to the digital switchover on February 17, 2009.  The signal will not actually be cut off, but analog over-the-air viewers will see snow on the screen and a message saying, " 'You are NOT ready for Digital TV.' "  The station will run the test during all of its newscasts on the 17th of every month.  Eight to 10% of households in this viewing area are analog-only (Broadcasting & Cable, 07/17/2008).

After discussions with FCC member Johnathan Adelstein, ION Media Networks agreed to run analog-shutoff tests at select TV stations across the country.  ION is the largest TV group in the country, owning or operating 60 full-power stations, including in all top 20 markets and 39 of the top 50.

ION wants to work with FCC, the DTV Transition Coalition and others to get as much useful information as possible from the tests.  It will promote these tests beforehand and ask the FCC and the coalition to help get the word out.

According to Broadcasting & Cable, "the stations will count down to the test on-air, explain that viewers may or may not see a blank screen and provide digital feeds to cable and direct-broadcast satellite.  Over-the-air analog viewers' screens will go blank for an unspecified amount of time, then a follow-up message will instruct analog viewers to go to the FCC's Web site and ION's Web site for more information on the switch."   The tests will run from August to December and will measure the preparedness of broadcasters, cable systems and DBS providers. 

Adelstein feels that more testing is necessary in areas with different population densities and terrain.  He thinks that short-term tests could help fill the bill as part of the overall coordinated DTV effort he has pushed for, one he believes is still lacking.  Adelstein also wants to see a coordinated national "turn-off-the-analog" moment (Broadcasting & Cable, 07/24/2008).

The FCC is allowing Trinity Broadcasting's WTBY-TV Poughkeepsie, N.Y. and WWAZ License's WWAZ-TV Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin to pull the plug on analog TV early.  WTBY is going to all-digital to make way for Qualcomm's MediaFlo Service, a national mobile-TV service.  All of the spectrum will be freed up by February 17, 2009, but the company is paying stations to exit early, and the FCC is allowing it under certain conditions to speed up the rollout of wireless service and to give emergency communications the opportunity to move in sooner.  WWAZ said that it is making way for first responders to use the channel.  Both stations are the only analog ones licensed to their local communities.  While this might have weighed against them in pulling the analog plug early, both say that there are other stations that serve the vast majority of their market, and neither is among the top four stations in viewership (Broadcasting & Cable, 07/28/2008).

On August 19, TV stations in Wilmington, North Carolina conducted a soft analog shutdown test that yielded positive results.  The market zipped through a 60-second shutoff without anyone reporting problems with their TV (Broadcasting & Cable, 08/21/2008).

Local TV's WHO Des Moines, Iowa will conduct a 19-hour analog shutdown test from 5 a.m. to midnight on August 25.  The test will help viewers figure out if their TVs are ready for the digital conversion in February.  Viewers that are not digitally equipped will see a crawl on their screen that tells them that they are not prepared and instructs them on how to fix the problem (Broadcasting & Cable, 08/22/2008).

TV station managers in Wilmington, North Carolina have decided to conduct a second pre-test to ensure the message is getting out to viewers.  They wonder if the first test allowed viewers enough time to read the entire message and write down the phone number.  The second test is scheduled for September 2 at 7:30pm and will run for five minutes.  Stations can present the on-screen message any way they choose.  The station WECT will likely feature larger type, a more digestible presentation (such as a scroll), and the continuous display of the phone number  (Broadcasting & Cable, 08/27/2008).

About 40 TV stations in Pennsylvania have set November 17 as the date for their one-minute analog shutdown test.  The stations will either pull the plug on the analog broadcasting and leave viewers with snow, or do a "soft" test, in which the analog signal will be a message that if they are watching that message, " 'you or your pay TV provider are not ready for Feb. 17, 2009 -- the date analog television ends' " (Broadcasting & Cable, 09/02/2008).

A dozen TV stations in the Milwaukee market will conduct a "soft" analog cutoff test on September 15.  At 5:10pm, the stations will pull the plug on their analog feeds for one minute, and replace them with simulated static and instructions on what they have to do to get ready for the digital switch in February, including directing them to a call center, sponsored by the Milwaukee Association of Broadcasters, which will be answering calls for three hours after the test (Broadcasting & Cable, 09/04/2008).

ION Media Networks approached TV stations and satellite and cable providers in top markets about participating in an analog-cutoff test in October.  The markets are New York, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Philadelphia, and Hartford, Connecticut.  TV stations and Telemundo- and NBC-owned affiliates in those markets have agreed to participate.  NBC and Telemundo are owned by NBC Universal, which has an ownership stake in ION.  ION is the largest TV group in the U.S., owning and/or operating 60 full-power TV stations, including one in each of the top 20 markets (Broadcasting & Cable, 09/18/2008).

Broadcasters in the San Francisco Bay area will conduct a soft analog shut-off test on October 21.  The test will involve 18 stations from Santa Rosa to Monterrey, and start at 6:15pm, lasting for at least one minute.  It will consist of signal tones followed by a graphic that will say "ready" for viewers who can receive a digital signal, and a "not ready" for viewers that don't.  People will be directed to the www.dtv.gov website for more information.  San Francisco has about 200,000 over-the-air only households, as well as a hilly terrain that could prove a reception challenge (Broadcasting & Cable, 10/16/2008).

New York City broadcasters will be conducting a soft analog cutoff test on October 28, 2008.  The test includes all the TV stations within the Metropolitan Television Alliance (MTVA) and will feature a two-minute shutdown of the normal analog feed between 5:59 and 6:01pm.  Three beeps will be heard to start the test, and a message will appear on TV screens informing viewers that their set is not ready for the digital transition.  The message will direct viewers to the government's information website about the transition, or to a helpline.  The MTVA is establishing the consumer hotline in cooperation with the FCC.

Subsequent one-minute tests will take place in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. on December 2, and two 30-minute tests will be conducted in Hartford on December 3.  ION says that it and its broadcast partners will participate in existing tests in San Francisco, Philadelphia, and other areas with varied population densities and terrains (Broadcasting & Cable, 10/21/2008).

Chicago TV stations are planning a " 'soft shutdown' " of their analog signals on November 12.  This market has about 300,000 households that receive their TV exclusively over-the-air.  The tests will occur simultaneously across all channels at 6:53am and 5:23pm and will last five minutes each.  Three beeps will be heard and an on-screen graphic will direct the viewer to call a DTV help line and the Chicago 311 Call Center will help answer viewer questions.  In addition, stations will place a graphic crawl on their digital broadcasts to indicate that their TV set is ready for digital, but to check other sets in their home for readiness (Broadcasting & Cable, 11/05/2008).

TV broadcasters in Maine will be conducting 60-second digital TV tests at 6:28pm on November 17, December 17, and January 20.  Starting during their 6pm programming, thirteen stations in Maine will alert viewers of the test and how it will work.  The tests will simulate the end of analog TV by showing a full-screen graphic on their analog signals.  The phone number will be featured on screen for viewers to call for more information on how to receive a digital signal.  Viewers who are ready for digital will not be affected by the tests (Broadcasting & Cable, 11/07/2008).

Hearst-Argyle's KOAT-TV Albuquerque, New Mexico has scheduled a soft analog shutoff test for November 13.  The station is asking viewers to tune all of their TV sets to its 10pm newscast.  When the test starts, viewers need to make sure they are seeing the Action 7 News story.  The test follows a DTV seminar the station held on November 8 which was attended by thousands of people  (Broadcasting & Cable, 11/11/2008). 

ION Media Networks, in conjunction with NBC Universal and the Association of Public Television Stations, is conducting a second round of soft analog shut-off tests.  The tests will take place in Los Angeles, Washington, Hartford, and Dallas in early December.  New York City will also do a second test (Multichannel News, 11/25/2008).

After Connecticut's DTV test on December 3, 1,706 viewers called in to the toll-free hotline for information.  Almost 84% of those were from analog over-the-air viewers, and almost 60% requested coupons for converter boxes.  The test, which involved over 115 TV stations, consisted of two half-hour periods, the first at noon and the second at 5pm.  Calls were evenly spaced, with 48% coming at 12pm and 45% coming at 5pm, with the rest coming in the next day (Broadcasting & Cable, 12/11/2008).

The Nevada Broadcasting Association (NBA) called its statewide DTV test on December 17 a success, despite some problems at the call center.  NBA president and CEO Bob Fisher said that they expected more calls.  The state will conduct another test on January 12, when station KOLO Reno shuts off its analog signal for good (Broadcasting & Cable, 12/19/2008).

Awareness

A recent survey by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) found that almost 80% of households have at least some knowledge of the digital transition, up from 38% last year (Wall Street Journal, 01/30/2008).

A survey on DTV awareness of 501 viewers in Wilmington, North Carolina  found that 89% were aware that there was going to be a digital transition.  Only 18%, however, were aware that Wilmington was switching to digital earlier than the rest of the country.  The NAB thinks that this is likely because the September 8 test date was only announced a few weeks earlier (Broadcasting & Cable, 06/05/2008).

Research from the Government Accountability Office found that 84% of people surveyed knew about the digital transition.  Data also found, however, that almost one-half of those who need to make changes to still watch TV had inadequate or no plans to address the problem.  In addition, while over one-half of those polled were aware of the coupon program for converter boxes, only one-third knew how to get the boxes (Broadcasting & Cable, 06/10/2008).

A National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) poll of over 30,000 TV households in April 2008 revealed that 90% of respondents are aware of the digital switchover on February 17, 2009.  This is up from 83% awareness found in a study done in January 2008.  A greater number of TV households also correctly identified the date of the transition -- 36% of all respondents and 41% of broadcast-only households.  Both of these percentages are up from the January survey (Media Post, 06/17/2008).

A study by the National Association of Broadcasters found that 91% of Hispanic households that get their TV via rooftop or indoor antennas knew about the digital switch compared with 31% in a similar study in September 2007.  Of those who knew about the switchover, 68% said they had learned about it through TV messages (Broadcasting & Cable, 06/24/2008).

A recent poll by the National Association of Broadcasters found that 85% of African-American households were aware of the digital transition, up 12% from just six months ago (Broadcasting & Cable, 07/07/2008).

According to a survey by the National Association of Broadcasters, two-thirds of homes that get their TV signals over-the-air (OTA) have taken action to prepare themselves for the digital switchover in February.  Sixty-four percent of households have subscribed to either cable or satellite or have applied to get a DTV converter box.  Thirty-five percent of broadcast-only homes said they would buy a DTV converter box using the government coupon, while 45% said they would buy a TV set with a digital tuner (Media Post, 07/11/2008).

According to Nielsen Media Research, as of July 2008, only 9.3% of TV households in the U.S. are completely unprepared for the digital switchover, down from 10.5% in January.  It was also found that 20.9% of households in July had at least one TV set that would not work after the transition, down from 23% in January.  The following table shows the percentage of households in the U.S. that are completely unprepared and partially unprepared for the analog shutdown. 
 

(Media Post Publications, 07/30/2008)

According to a poll conducted by Retirement Living TV (RLTV), almost one in four seniors is not aware of the digital TV transition, and that number increases to one in three for those with less formal education.  RLTV's research suggests that the digital transition will affect almost 70 million households, or 23% of the total.  The network found that 31% of seniors without a college education are unaware of the transition and say that they haven't heard of it (Broadcasting & Cable, 08/07/2008).

Availability

Wal-Mart began stocking Magnavox digital-to-analog TV converters in its 3,400 U.S. stores on February 11, 2008.  These boxes, made by Philips Electronics, are available at all locations for $49.87.  Another DTV converter box will be available at Wal-Mart in the next few months (Multichannel News, 02/11/2008).

The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has recommended that digital converter boxes be sold in grocery stores because they provide easy access for consumers, especially in rural areas where there are a lot of analog TV sets, but not many large electronic stores (Media Post, 03/13/2008).

Rep. Rick Boucher wants to introduce legislation to take money from FCC's spectrum auction to help pay for more digital converter boxes.  While the coupon program has almost $1.5 billion to cover the cost of these boxes, the National Association of Broadcasters says that amount would only be enough for about one-half of the 70 million broadcast-only sets.  The auction will raise around $19.5 billion, with only $10 billion already accounted for by the treasury, including to cover the $1.5 billion coupon program (Broadcasting & Cable, 03/17/2008).

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration is proposing a rule that would allow viewers with Post Office boxes as their mailing address to qualify for digital converter box coupons, as well as those living in assisted-living facilities and nursing homes (Broadcasting Cable, 04/09/2008).

Dish Network will have DTVPal, its new DTV-to-analog converter box, available in the Wilmington, North Carolina market in time for the September 8, 2008 digital switchover date.  Priced at $39.99, DTVPal is the only converter box approved by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration that is less than the government's $40 coupon.  Dish hopes to make the boxes widely available this summer (Broadcasting & Cable, 05/08/2008). 

Meredith Attwall Baker, acting head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), said that the NTIA has the authority to allow consumers to re-apply for digital converter box coupons, which expire after 90 days.  A letter was sent to her this week by a group of senators that suggested that the NTIA should allow for reapplication, and for viewers to use the coupons for boxes that weren't available at stores yet.  The NTIA will look at coupon redemption data before it decides whether or not to change the rules (Broadcasting & Cable, 05/08/2008).

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said that he would favour allowing viewers to re-apply for digital converter box coupons.  He explains, " 'I think we should try to be sure that we do everything we can to make this transition as easy from the consumer perspective and the least burdensome as possible.' "  He adds, " 'so, to the extent that we are able to do anything to make it easier for them to obtain coupons for converter boxes or make any other changes, I end up thinking that is a good idea' " (Broadcasting & Cable, 05/23/2008).

Bernadette McGuire-Rivera of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration said that around 464,000 coupons for digital converter boxes expired without being used, or about 58% of the 800,000  that already reached their expiration dates.  The expiration date was put into place to avoid fraud (Broadcasting & Cable, 06/10/2008).

According to Meredith Atwell Baker, acting chief of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, over 6 million coupons for digital converter boxes have been redeemed.  The redemption rate was 44%, which means that 56% (over 6 million) have not been redeemed.  This could be because they were lost, forgotten, or not used by those who applied for them but did not need them.  The money for these unredeemed coupons is now available for issuing new coupons, but there may not be enough administrative money to cover mailing out and processing them.  The NTIA has $160 million to spend on administrative costs.

As of July 18, 2008, the NTIA received requests for 46,345 coupons from 25,063 households in the Wilmington, North Carolina market.  A total of 41,000 were mailed and 12,414 have been redeemed.  This is only slightly over 25%, but it is not a redemption rate yet because the coupons have not expired and the rate is how many were redeemed compared to how many expired (Broadcasting & Cable, 07/18/2008).

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) is providing over 100 free digital TV converter boxes to residents living in long-term care facilities in Wilmington, North Carolina and the surrounding counties.  These boxes are being reserved for residents who do not subscribe to pay-TV service or have DTV sets. 

The boxes that the CEA will distribute are being supplied by its member companies Best Buy (Insignia brand), EchoStar (DTVPal brand), and LG Electronics (Zenith brand).  Representatives from EchoStar and Zenith are demonstrating how to install and use the boxes and the CEA is providing copies of its "Florence Henderson's Digital Tips" brochures, which include a converter box installation guide.  Staff at the facilities will install the converter boxes for residents this summer (Twice, 07/21/2008).

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has now certified over 150 digital TV converter boxes, and over one-third of them (63) contain analog pass-through capability.  The NTIA also established September as a cutoff date for submitting converter boxes for certification to ensure that they can be tested and certified before the coupon program ends.  The final day viewers can request coupons is March 31, 2009, and the last day they can be redeemed by retailers is July 9, 2009.  To date, 6.3 million converter boxes have been bought using the $40 coupons (Broadcasting & Cable, 07/24/2008).

Nielsen estimates that there were 14 million over-the-air TV households at the beginning of the year, and nearly 75% of them have requested TV converter box coupons.  Meredith Baker, acting administrator at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, says that there have been 23 million coupons requested and more than 8.2 million redeemed nationwide (Cartt, 08/18/2008).

FCC chairman Kevin Martin has asked that retail stores carry EchoStar's $40 digital converter boxes, as none of the major retailers are selling these low-cost boxes.  With the government's $40 subsidy coupon, the box would essentially be free, but the boxes aren't widely available in stores yet. 

Martin is asking the Consumer Electronics Retailers Coalition to ask members like Wal-Mart, Sears, Roebuck, Best Buy, Circuit City, and RadioShack to carry at least one model of the $40 converter box in their stores (Broadcasting & Cable, 09/16/2008).

Residents of nursing homes and people with P.O. boxes are now eligible for digital converter box coupons.  People with P.O. boxes can apply for two coupons, while residents of nursing homes will get a special form and only one coupon per resident (Broadcasting & Cable, 09/16/2008).

Dish Network has introduced a DTV-to-analog converter box with DVR functionality, the first of its kind in the U.S.  While the box does not qualify for the government's $40 subsidy, DISH is knocking off $50 from the $299 retail price with a rebate.  The box records up to 150 hours of standard definition or 30 hours of HD programming for analog viewing (Broadcasting & Cable, 11/11/2008).

The National Association of Broadcasters sent a letter to the NTIA suggesting that it ask contractor IBM to look into alternative delivery methods, such as Fed Ex or UPS, as the digital deadline quickly approaches (Broadcasting & Cable, 11/25/2008).

The House voted to allow households to re-apply for expired DTV converter box coupons.  Gary Shapiro, president of the Consumer Electronics Association has warned that " 'this date change will inject uncertainty into the market and may result in a shortage of converter boxes.' " since manufacturers and retailers had planned their inventory based on the February 17 date (Multichannel News, 02/05/2009).

Some manufacturers of DTV converter boxes have started making new ones (they had stopped making them in anticipation of the February 17 transition date), which should be on store shelves by April.  In the meantime, there could be a shortage of converter boxes depending on demand and the timing of the NTIA's increase of distribution.  There are between 3 million and 6 million boxes currently in the pipeline.  In the worst case scenario (if there are only 3 million boxes in inventory), if daily coupon redemptions continue at about 115,000 per day, retailers would run out of boxes by the end of February.  Assuming the high end of 6 million in inventory, retailers would run out in approximately 52 days, which means they would run out just as new boxes start to arrive in stores (Broadcasting & Cable, 02/06/2009).

TV households can now reapply for converter box coupons that have expired.  Over 17 million have expired.  The National Association of Broadcasters also reports that there is no longer a waiting list for coupons, which had grown to over 4 million (Broadcasting & Cable, 03/24/2009).

Funding

The Senate voted to free up more funding for the DTV transition with an amendment to the Deficit Reduction Act.  This amendment would free up leftover funds from the digital converter box program to help seniors, minorities, and rural viewers to prepare for and make the transition.  It would also make funding available to help low-power broadcasters make the switch to digital.  The National Telecommunications and Information Administration said that it would need direction from Congress on how to spend its converter box funds beyond the directives in the initial legislation (Broadcasting & Cable, 06/20/2008).

Problems

Problems with some converter boxes
Microtune, a company that makes TV tuners for some of the coupon-eligible digital converter boxes, tested some of the boxes that did not contain its tuners and found problems.  Its testing revealed " 'numerous and pronounced test failures' " that could lead to " 'the loss of television reception in large areas of many metropolitan areas throughout the United States.' "   The company bought and tested five different converter boxes and they all suffered interference problems. 

Microtune wants the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to test all channels rather than just a few, to audit the boxes on store shelves to make sure they comply with performance standards, and to decertify the boxes that don't comply (Broadcasting & Cable, 03/26/2008).

The NTIA said it will review test results submitted by Microtune and audit boxes that are currently on store shelves, if necessary (Broadcasting & Cable, 03/27/2008).

Blocking analog signals
The Community Broadcasters Association (CBA) is filing a court action against the FCC to prevent " 'the marketing of DTV converter boxes that block analog signals.' "  This would be the majority of boxes certified for the government's coupon program. 

The CBA is going to court " 'to protect the interests and business of all low-power and class-A [low-power] TV stations that specialize in localism,' "  explains CBA's executive director Amy Brown.  The association argues that the boxes violate the FCC's all-channel receiver act, which states that " 'all television receivers shipped in interstate commerce, or imported into the United States, for sale or resale to the public be capable of receiving all channels allocated to television broadcasting.' " 

The CBA wants the FCC to require converter-box manufacturers to make boxes that receive both analog and digital signals because thousands of low-power and translator stations, including some network affiliates and several Spanish-language stations, will not be converting to digital next February (Broadcasting & Cable, 03/26/2008).

Impact on ethnic and regional markets
Nielsen warns that while 10.1% of American households would lose access to most TV signals if the analog shutdown occurred today, the impact on the Hispanic market would be a lot higher.  The African-American and Asian markets could also suffer more than the general population.

A study by Nielsen found that 17.3% of Hispanic homes and 11.7% of Asian ones get their TV signals over the air.  According to the study, 26.2% of Hispanic homes have at least one set that can get a digital signal, but have other sets in the home that cannot.  This compares to 19.5% for African-American homes, 18.8% for Asian homes, and 15.2% for white homes.

Nielsen also pointed out that the impact of the analog shutdown would be more dramatic in some regional markets than others.  In Houston, Salt Lake City, Minneapolis, and Portland, over 20% of TV sets are not hooked up to cable, satellite or digital.  In New York City, Hartford, West Palm Beach, Philadelphia, and Tampa, however, the number is less than 7%  (Advertising Age, 02/15/2008).

Set-top box shortages
Cox Communications' supply of HD set-tops is running low in at least three U.S. markets.  There is a one- to two-week delay in getting an HD set-top or HD DVR.  Verizon Communications also reported a shortage of HD set-tops and DVRs.  The shortage for both companies can be attributed to the major push to convert analog TV households to digital ones (Multichannel News, 02/06/2008).

In early April, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration reported that 10 million coupons for digital set-top boxes have been requested since the program began this January.  Redemption has been a slow process, however, as consumers have to wait for manufacturers to roll out the boxes and retailers to stock them.  As of April 11, only 280,128 coupons had been redeemed.  The government started mailing the coupons in February, and the backlog of requests is being worked through (Chicago Tribune, 04/14/2008).

Research from the Government Accountability Office showed that one-third of those who didn't need digital converter boxes or coupons were going to apply for them anyway, which could drain funds for the program (Broadcasting & Cable, 06/10/2008).

Reception
A study by Centris found gaps in broadcast signals that may leave almost 6 million TVs unable to receive as many channels as they did before the digital conversion.  It might also affect those who purchased converter boxes or new digital TVs.

Digital reception is more affected by hills, trees, buildings and other interference than analog.  While an analog TV picture degrades gradually when a signal gets weak, a digital one suddenly drops out.

The Centris study projects that based on its landscape, 2.5% of over-the-air (OTA) TVs in Las Vegas (which lies in a flat basin) would lose at least one of five major networks.  In Philadelphia, which has more hills, 5% of these TVs would lose reception, while in St. Louis, it could be as high as 10%.  A digital signal would travel 60 to 75 miles (95 to 120 kilometres) in these three cities.  Centris' own model showed that the signals would degrade at 35 miles (International Herald Tribune, 02/11/2008).

According to Centris research, the ten markets most at risk for reception problems are (in order): New York, Boston (Manchester, N.H.), Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Washington D.C. (Hagerstown, Md.), Seattle-Tacoma Wash., San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, Calif., Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn., Atlanta, and Cleveland-Akron (Canton), Ohio (Broadcasting & Cable, 04/10/2008).

Garbage
One problem that has arisen from the digital deadline is the amount of garbage this will create with consumers throwing out their old analog TV sets. It is estimated that about 28 million TVs will enter the solid waste stream because of the approaching analog shutdown.

Some manufacturers, like Sony, have drop-off sites for old TV sets. But there are just 80 right now for the entire country. Even if this is increased to 100, that would work out to only two for each state, which doesn’t make it easy for consumers. Legislators want to see drop-off sites no more than 20 miles from each home (MediaPost, 01/16/2008).

According to a Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) survey, homes receiving over-the-air broadcast signals expect to remove less than 15 million TVs from their homes through 2010.  Of these, 95% will be sold, donated or recycled.  Forty-eight percent of homes plan to buy a digital converter box and continue using the same TV.

Of those that threw away their TV in the past year, 42% reported that they weren't aware of recycling programs for electronics.  CEA's consumer website, www.myGreenElectronics.org, educates consumers about responsible use, reuse and recycling of electronics and also has a zip-code searchable database of electronics recyclers (Twice, 04/01/2008).

Best Buy will test a free electronics-recycling program in 117 stores.  Stores in the Baltimore, San Francisco and Minnesota markets will start accepting up to two units per day free-of-charge.  The items can include TVs with screens up to 32 inches (Broadcasting & Cable, 06/03/2008).

Report by the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights

According to a report by the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR), several problems with DTV education still remain.  They include:

• "Absence of clear federal leadership and a comprehensive transition plan;

• Lack of viewer awareness;

• Viewer and retailer confusion;

• TV converter-box-coupon-program problems and complexities;

• Excessive and unanticipated costs and burdens to viewers to make the transition;

• Loss of community television stations;

• Difficulties in procuring and attaching converter boxes;

• Reports of unnecessary retailer upselling;

• Difficulties for seniors and people with disabilities in accessing captioning and any available video description on digital converter, cable, or satellite boxes and finding converter boxes that support video description; and

• No rapid-response capability to deal with problems on and after Feb. 17, 2009."

The LCCR's suggested solutions included Y2K-like planning, investing more government money in outreach, including home visits and more converter boxes per household, making more analog pass-through boxes available, and requiring converter boxes to be upgradable automatically through software (Broadcasting & Cable, 07/07/2008).

Unredeemed DTV Coupons

The heads of the House committee are concerned that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is going to run out of money to process coupons for digital converter boxes.   The problem is that the Administration only has $160 million to process and mail out 33.5 million $40 coupons.  Three million dollars worth of these coupons have already expired, however, and the House is concerned that there aren't enough funds to process the recycling of those coupons for new requests. 

John Dingall, chairman of the House Energy & Commerce Committee, explains, " 'now we find that the NTIA has not adequately planned for reissuing expired coupons.  The committee intends to determine whether and where there have been shortcomings in the administration of this program, why they were allowed to occur, who was involved and, most important, how these problems will be corrected without penalizing consumers.' "

Ed Markey, chairman of the Telecommunications Subcommittee, points out that " 'the NTIA has long been aware that redistributing expired coupons in a timely fashion would be key to ensuring that everyone who needs a coupon receives one.' "  He adds, " 'the NTIA's apparent lack of planning is a serious oversight, one that they must correct promptly and without dipping into the funds marked to help consumers purchase converter boxes' " (Broadcasting & Cable, 07/10/2008).

DTV Coupon Shortages

The DTV converter box coupon program could run out of funds to process those coupons by the end of January unless Congress provides it with more money.  This would be 17 days before the digital transition date, and almost seven weeks short of the March 31 cutoff date for applying for coupons.  This shortage could be a problem if there is an anticipated increase of coupon requests from procrastinators.  Meredith Atwell Baker, acting chief of the NTIA, says the " 'NTIA estimates that the coupon program will be able to honor requests for 44.5 million coupons through the end of January 2009 within existing administrative funds' " (Broadcasting & Cable, 09/18/2008). 

U.S.-Mexico Border Concerns

The Democratic leaders of the House Energy & Commerce Committee recently sent a letter to the FCC and the NTIA about problems along the U.S.-Mexico border.  The letter explained that " 'after the DTV transition, most Mexican stations will continue to broadcast only in analog format, and all full-power U.S. stations will broadcast in digital format.  Because many of the Spanish-speaking households near the border watch both U.S. and Mexican television, there appears to be much potential for consumer confusion' " (Broadcasting & Cable, 09/26/2008).

Threats to Cable & Satellite Providers

According to a study by the Association of Public Television Stations, 62% of the 14.5 million analog TV homes prefer to continue with free broadcast TV rather than pay for TV programming after the digital switch.  Only 10% said they would opt for cable, satellite, or telco service to receive digital TV (Media Post Publications, 03/21/2008).

At this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, new devices and technology were featured that make it easier to show Internet content on TV. These will pose a threat to cable and satellite providers (Wall Street Journal, 01/10/2008).

Penetration Levels

A threshold was crossed in January 2008: over 50% of American households had a digital TV set.  The 85% of homes that subscribe to cable or satellite will not be affected by the digital transition since they don't receive their TV signals over the air.  The homes that will be affected are those that don't have digital TV and who receive their TV signals over the air, which is around 11% of households (Wall Street Journal, 01/22/2008).