NAB: Wilmington Stations Receive 226 Calls
National Association of Broadcasters: Only one call was from viewer surprised by the DTV switch.
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 9/9/2008 7:23:00 AM
The four major network-affiliate stations making the switch to all-digital broadcasting in Wilmington, N.C., Monday received a total of 226 calls from viewers about the switch, according to the National Association of Broadcasters.
The Federal Communications Commission had not returned a call seeking information on how many calls it received, since it was the FCC’s number that was posted in a graphic on the analog channels after regular programming disappeared at noon Monday.
Wilmington has an estimated 13,000 over-the-air, analog-only households -- the ones that would obviously be most affected by the end of analog broadcasts.
The NAB said only one of the calls to the stations was from a viewer who was surprised by the switch, with the rest from viewers who had set up their DTV-to-analog converter boxes incorrectly, needed help adjusting their antennas or had other problems receiving a digital signal, and some who were still waiting to receive their $40 government subsidies for the boxes.
In a release on the calls issued by the NAB, Andy Combs, general manager of WWAY-TV, said the lesson from those calls was that stations "need to urge their viewers to upgrade early so they can have their converter box ready to go and determine whether signal reception will be an issue in their household. Many reception issues are generally easy to resolve, but in some cases, in some areas, folks may need a better antenna. It’s best to figure all of that out ahead of time.”
But Combs added, “By and large," the Wilmington consumer-education campaign by broadcasters and the FCC "got the job done."
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I notice there was a SMALL mention that "some may need to improve their antennas" in the report about the digital connection problems of Wilmington's TV viewers. I think that is one discussion point that has been left out of the DTV transition discussion. Those of us who had roof-top antennas blown down by storms will need to buy new ones to receive DTV over the air, and where are the antenna installers now? Wilmington is, I understand, very flat, so the experience of it's TV viewers in this DTV transition will not apply to the many hilly and mountainous areas of TV broadcast areas in the U.S.
MFD
M.F. Donnelly - 9/10/2008 5:56:00 PM EDT -
There is still a lot of work to be done surrounding the transition to digital television. Our non-profit, the Urban Progressive Foundation has been actively working with seniors and other groups to provide straight, clear and understandable information to help them through the transition.
You can read about my experience at the Wilmington test run on my blog
www.digitaldynamo.blogspot.com.
Or you can visit my website (www.transition2dtv.com) and get info on outreach workshops to keep seniors and others from being left in the dark.
Denice Rhodes - 9/10/2008 2:33:00 PM EDT
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