Switch to Digital TV by June 12 Mostly a Problem for
Nation’s Senior Citizens
Over a third of stations have made switch with less
furor that expected
Feb. 26, 2009 – The nation’s switch from
broadcasting television in analog to the all-digital format is
progressing better than many expected, but only 421 of the nearly 1,800
full-power televisions stations made the switch on February 17, the
original target date, and the remaining two-thirds of the nation’s
stations are expected to go all-digital between April 16 and June 12.
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About 220 stations made the transition before
Tuesday, February 17, for a total of 641 stations having made the
transition by the end of Tuesday, or 36% of the full-power stations
nationwide.
Call volume to the Federal Communications
Commission’s consumer help line for the digital television transition
(1-888-CALLFCC) totaled 28,315 on the day of the transition, although
most stations did not change until the evening, according to the
government’s Digital Television Transition website.
Call volume dropped to 25,320 on Wednesday and has
continued to decrease.
Many of the calls were from consumers who were
unaware that they should run the “scan” function on their digital
televisions or converter boxes in order to get reception from a station
that changed its digital channel after the transition.
Call center
agents were trained to walk consumers through the process. Information
about scanning and other answers to transition questions can be found at
http://www.dtv.gov.
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What Does This Mean For You?
If you have one or more analog televisions that receive free
over-the-air TV programming with an outdoor antenna or “rabbit
ears” on the TV, you will need to be prepared. You have three
options:
1) purchase and connect a “digital-to-analog converter
box” to your analog TV;
2) purchase a digital television (a TV
with a built-in digital tuner); or
3) subscribe to a paid
service such as cable or satellite TV.
Each U.S. household is
eligible to receive two $40 coupons to be used toward the
purchase of two digital-to-analog converter boxes.
Even though the DTV transition deadline has been pushed back,
your local broadcast stations may complete the transition before
June 12th. Broadcast stations are required to notify their
viewers before shutting off their analog channels. If you are
not yet prepared for the DTV transition, it’s important to
prepare. It’s also important to watch your local broadcast
channels for on-air announcements or you may contact them
directly for more information. |
Finding that the public was not ready for the
transition to digital television, Congress earlier this month delayed
the deadline for termination of analog signals from February 17 to June
12.
But Congress also directed the FCC to give broadcasters the
flexibility to make the transition early, including on the original
February 17 date.
The FCC is seeking to ensure that even where all or
most stations in a market are terminating analog service, consumers who
are unprepared for the switch will continue to have access to critical
local news and emergency information.
To accomplish this, the FCC examined each market in
which stations planned to end analog service to try to ensure that at
least one affiliate of the four major networks – ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC –
would continue broadcasting in analog after February 17.
Many had such
a station, but in those instances in which there would be no top-four
affiliate remaining in a market, the FCC attempted to ensure that analog
local news and emergency information would remain available—generally
through what is being called “enhanced analog nightlight” service.
Under “enhanced analog nightlight,” the top-four
affiliates must keep at least one analog signal on the air to provide
programming that includes, at a minimum, local news and emergency
information.
“We are trying to make the best of a difficult
situation,” Copps said. “While this staggered transition is confusing
and disruptive for some consumers, the confusion and disruption would
have been far worse had we gone ahead with a nationwide transition on
Tuesday.”
“Remember where we were little more than a week
ago,” Copps explained. “We potentially had all 1,800 full-power
stations seeking to terminate analog service on February 17. Then the
major network owned-and-operated stations, along with some of the major
group owners, stepped up and declared that they would keep their analog
signals on the air.
In the coming days, FCC staff will visit stores in
those key markets to assess the availability of digital converter boxes,
distribute key “how to” information for consumers making the switch, and
assist in DTV walk-in centers where consumers can get hands-on
transition assistance.
Outreach continues to be targeted to consumers
most at risk: senior citizens, low income families, people living in
rural and tribal areas, non-English speakers, and the disabled.
The FCC has also boosted staffing in consumer call
centers, providing 2,506 information specialists to answer consumer
questions about the transition and an additional 1,759 agents through
industry partners. All calls will be routed through a single number,
1-888-CALLFCC, and agents will have the ability to refer callers to
local contacts for information regarding particular reception issues.
The Commission has also provided new web resources
to help consumers address digital reception problems. Information and a
DTV reception map that allow consumers to check reception at their own
homes are available at http://www.dtv.gov/fixreception.html.
Broadcasters continue to have the most critical
role in educating their viewers about the transition. In addition to
extensive on-air efforts, many local stations have engineers and
employees devoting significant time to helping individual viewers
resolve their transition problems.
“We applaud broadcasters who have worked with
us—and who have worked together— as we scramble to best serve the public
under this new law,” Copps added.
A complete list of all full-power stations and
information on their transition is available at
http://www.dtv.gov.
