Univision hypes digital TV change

UNIVISION HYPES DIGITAL TV CHANGE
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: David Lieberman]
The TV industry's effort to prepare everyone for the Feb. 17, 2009 switch to digital-only TV broadcasting takes a big step forward today: Univision, the No. 1 Spanish-language broadcaster, will be the first major network owner to launch a public service ad campaign about the change. "Hispanics could be uniquely affected," says Univision CEO Joe Uva. "We want to make sure that they're the best-educated segment of the population about what it means and what they can do." Univision is concerned because nearly 28% of Hispanic households — and 43% of homes where Spanish is the primary language — watch TV only via over-the-air transmissions, according to a 2005 National Association of Broadcasters report to the FCC. By contrast, about 16% of non-Hispanic white households and 23% of African-Americans depend solely on broadcast signals. Without a big consumer education effort, the digital TV transition will be a "consumer disaster," the National Hispanic Media Coalition, a non-profit advocacy group, said in an FCC filing last month.
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20071001/1a_bottomstrip01.art....

* It's all about Feb. 17, 2009
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20071001/1a_bottombox01_dom.ar...