The Selling of the DTV Transition

THE SELLING OF THE DTV TRANSITION
[SOURCE: tvnewsday, AUTHOR: Kim McAvoy]
The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) is spending millions of dollars to make sure that no consumer is left behind in February 2009 when TV stations make the final move from analog to digital broadcasting. NAB is still being stingy about details of the campaign and how much is being spent, although it has outlined the plan to Congress and the Federal Communications Commission. NAB is expected to reveal more of what it is doing over the course of September when the DTV transition will be in the political spotlight. In the Senate, the Special Committee on Aging, chaired by Sen Herb Kohl (D-WI), will convene a Sept. 19 hearing on the DTV transition. And the Senate Commerce Committee is also likely to hold a hearing. At the Federal Communications Commission, comments are due Sept. 17 on how to go about “creating a coordinated, national DTV consumer education campaign.” And the FCC has scheduled a Sept. 26 consumer education workshop on the subject. Meanwhile, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration is holding a DTV Expo on Sept 25 featuring NAB President David Rehr, Consumer Electronics Association President Gary Shapiro and National Cable & Telecommunications Association President Kyle McSlarrow. To make sure its campaign is as effective as possible, the NAB has been conducting fresh research on principal the targets of the campaign -- the over-the-air viewers. The research includes focus groups with various types of consumers, including the elderly, African-Americans and Spanish speakers. Armed with the research, NAB will get the message out through a PR push, PSAs, paid advertising and an extensive grassroots effort.
http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2007/09/05/daily.4/

* Digital TV In 2009: Looking Fuzzy
[SOURCE: TVPredictions.com, AUTHOR: Phillip Swann]
The satellite TV industry's disclosure that it may not meet the 2009 Digital TV deadline is more evidence that the transition is not proceeding smoothly.
http://www.tvpredictions.com/dtvfuzzy090507.htm