June 10 House DTV Transition Hearing recap

HOUSE DTV HEARING RECAP
* Lawmakers Cite Problems With Digital TV Converter-Box Coupons
* Many TV Viewers Unprepared For Switch
* U.S. could face glitch in TV converter box program
* Markey, Dingell at House DTV Hearing
* New GAO Report on the Digital Television Transition
* Kevin Martin's Testimony
* Next DTV Test Market: Jacksonville?
* KPHO Plans Digital Test Day

LAWMAKERS CITE PROBLEMS WITH DIGITAL TV CONVERTER-BOX COUPONS
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: ]
Some Americans are finding the government-issued coupons used to help pay for digital television converter boxes are expiring before they can be redeemed, House lawmakers said Tuesday. Consumers also are having a tough time finding converter boxes, which are sold out in some stores, and should be given more time to buy them even after the coupons expire, several lawmakers said during a House Commerce subcommittee hearing. "If you can't get a box within the 90 days, what good is this?" said Rep Bart Stupak (D-MI), who held up one of the coupons that resemble plastic gift cards. The government established a $1.5 billion coupon program to help millions of consumers buy the converter boxes before the nationwide transition to digital programming in February. Households are eligible for two $40 coupons, which are aimed primarily at up to 21 million owners of the older-model sets that rely on antennas to watch TV. If they don't get a converter box when the country's broadcasters complete the switchover, they will wind up staring at a blank screen. Cable and satellite TV subscribers do not need the boxes. Overall, about 8.5 million households have requested 16 million coupons since the program started earlier this year, according to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which is overseeing the coupon program. Nearly three million coupons have been redeemed so far.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121315741044663711.html?mod=todays_us_pe...
http://money.cnn.com/rssclick/2008/06/10/technology/digital_TV.ap/index....

MANY TV VIEWERS UNPREPARED FOR SWITCH
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Kim Hart]
Nearly half of the households that could lose television service after the transition to digital broadcasting are still unprepared for the switch, according to a report released yesterday by the Government Accountability Office. The report found that many consumers are still confused about how to get ready for the transition, underscoring lawmakers' concerns that millions of TV viewers could be faced with a blank screen. The GAO report found that about 84 percent of consumers were aware of the transition but that many did not know what they needed to do to continue getting service. More than half the 1,010 people surveyed said they knew about the government program to get coupons to help pay for converter boxes that allow analog TVs to receive digital broadcasts, but two-thirds of the people who want a coupon didn't know how to get one. Even consumers who will not be affected are confused, the report found. About 30 percent of the respondents indicated they had plans to ready themselves for the transition, even though they do not have to do anything to maintain service.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/10/AR200806...
(requires registration)

US COULD FACE GLITCH IN TV CONVERTER BOX PROGRAM
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Peter Kaplan]
Bernadette McGuire-Rivera, associate director of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, told the House Telecommunications Subcommittee that it was possible the agency "would have to get more money, basically to buy more stamps to send out coupons" to subsidize converter boxes that some TV owners will need for the February 2009 digital television switchover. The government began mailing coupons on February 21. As of June 3, it had received requests for more than 16 million coupons, McGuire-Rivera said in a prepared statement. But extra coupon mailings could be needed because many people who applied for them did not use them before they expired. Only 42 percent of the coupons sought by consumers were being redeemed before they expired, according to NTIA figures. Funds for expired, unredeemed coupons are being returned to the subsidy program and will be available so more coupons can be mailed. But McGuire-Rivera said, "The program currently has limited administrative funds to distribute additional numbers of coupons that might be issued from the returned funds." The NTIA issued a statement after the hearing saying it "has no plans to ask Congress for any additional funds." A more accurate forecast of the costs would be possible sometime after July 1, when NTIA gets further redemption information.
http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSN1038392820080611
* More Mixed DTV News from GAO (Broadcasting&Cable)
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6568962.html?rssid=193
* Analog Turnoff Could Affect 34% of U.S. Households (Broadcasting&Cable)
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6568956.html?rssid=193
* DTV Transition Could Impact Up To One-Third Of U.S. Households: Survey (Multichannel News)
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6568721.html?nid=4262

MARKEY, DINGELL AT HOUSE DTV HEARING
[SOURCE: House of Representatives Commerce Committee]
House Telecommunications Subcommittee Chairman Ed Markey (D-MA) held the fifth in a series of oversight hearings on the Digital Television (DTV) Transition which will take place in February of 2009. Chairman Markey highlighted new information from the Government Accountability Office (see link to report below). With respect to the converter box program, only 55 percent of consumers reported being aware of it. In addition, of those consumers who said they intend to purchase a box, only one-third were aware of how to actually obtain a coupon. The GAO data also indicate some significant consumer confusion. For instance, of those consumers considered at risk of losing television service, some 45 percent plan inadequate or no action to prepare for the transition. Conversely, of those consumers in a ‘low risk' category - in other words, consumers who should not need converter boxes because all their TVs are connected to cable or satellite service - some 15 percent indicated they would purchase a converter box even though they don't need one. And 86 percent of these households indicated they would utilize the NTIA program to do so. House Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell (D-MI) said, "When 54 percent of households have inadequate or no plans for the transition, despite being at risk of losing service, it demonstrates that there is still much to be done before February 17, 2009." He asked, "Will funding for the TV Converter Box Coupon Program be sufficient, or will some consumers be left without assistance? How will NTIA and IBM facilitate the changeover from the first phase of the TV Converter Box Coupon Program, in which any household can apply for up to two coupons, to the second phase, in which coupons are restricted to only over-the-air households? Will the FCC and NTIA have sufficient resources to educate consumers in every community to the same extent as was done in the Wilmington test market? If not, how much of an actual indicator for the nationwide transition will this test market be? What resources are available to assist consumers who may need in-home assistance to set up their converter boxes? If consumers hook up their converter box and it fails to deliver digital signals, how will they know whether the converter box is broken or if a new rooftop antenna or some other technological fix is needed? In some viewing areas, a broadcaster’s digital signal will cover different areas than the broadcaster’s current analog signal. How will consumers know if they fall inside a broadcaster’s analog footprint, but outside of its digital?"
http://markey.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3388&I...
* Chairman Dingell's statement
http://energycommerce.house.gov/Press_110/110st171.shtml

NEW GAO REPORT ON THE DIGITAL TELEVISION TRANSITION
[SOURCE: Government Accountability Office, AUTHOR: Mark L. Goldstein]
Digital Television Transition: Broadcasters' Transition Status, Low-Power Station Issues, and Information on Consumer Awareness of the DTV Transition
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-881T
* Highlights
http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d08881thigh.pdf

KEVIN MARTIN'S TESTIMONY
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: FCC Chairman Kevin Martin]
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin told the House Telecommunications Subcommittee that a successful digital transition will depend upon minimizing the burdens placed on consumers and maximizing their ability to benefit from it. he noted that new FCC rules clarified cable and satellite companies were required to carry digital broadcast signals to their customers just as they do the analog broadcast signals today. The FCC also ordered cable operators to continue to make every broadcast station's signal viewable.
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-282817A1.doc

NEXT DTV TEST MARKET: JACKSONVILLE?
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Could Jacksonville (FL) be the next digital-TV-transition test market? At a hearing on the DTV transition in the House Telecommunications Subcommittee Monday, Rep Cliff Stearns (R-FL) said he thought the city would be willing to be the second city to pull the plug on analog early.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6568718.html?rssid=193

KPHO PLANS DIGITAL TEST DAY
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Michael Malone]
Meredith’s KPHO Phoenix will help viewers to find out if they’re ready for the digital transition by running a “Test Day” June 12. The test “will simulate the Feb. 17 [2009] digital switch,” Meredith said in a statement. Viewers with compatible TVs will continue to see the station’s newscasts, while those with non-compatible sets will get information about how to convert.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6568925.html?rssid=193