FCC: Wilmington DTV Switch Still a Go
FCC still monitoring tropical storms Hanna, Josephine, Hurricane Ike.
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 9/4/2008 1:53:00 PM EDT
At press time, a Federal Communications Commission spokesman said the FCC still expects the Wilmington, N.C., early analog plug-pull to go off as planned Monday, Sept. 8.
Commission staffers have been monitoring the forecasts for tropical storms Hanna and Josephine and Hurricane Ike, all of which are in the Atlantic.
Hanna is projected to possibly hit on or near Wilmington Friday night or Saturday morning.
But while the green light for Wilmington was on Thursday night, the FCC could still decide to postpone the switch. Chairman Kevin Martin would make the call, the spokesman said, in coordination with broadcasters and public-safety officials.
Five stations in the Wilmington market agreed to pull the plug on analog early to help the FCC gauge the impact of the wider analog turnoff in February 2009.
The commission officially announced Monday’s plug-pulling ceremony, which B&C already reported.
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