FCC Giving $8.4 Million In DTV Education Money To Grassroots Groups
AARP to receive the biggest portion of funding
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/6/2009 2:44:00 PM
The FCC has identified a dozen grassroots groups that will get $8.4 million in DTV education money from the commission, with the biggest chunk--$2,719,947--going to AARP for call centers targeted to seniors.
Barack Obama's transition team has pushed the FCC and broadcasters to make sure there are enough people answering the millions of phone calls expected from viewers in the days surrounding the Feb. 17 transition to digital DTV.
In addition to AARP, others getting money are Communications Services for the Deaf, Hispanic Information and Telecommunication Network, PinTech Corp., The Mayor's Commission on Technology, noncommercial WXXI, VN TeamWork, Iowa Public Broadcasting Board, Idaho Public Television, Wisconsin Public Television, Ohio State University/WOSU, and the Knox County (Kentucky) CAC.
The FCC says it looked for groups who would target key populations--minorities, senior citizens, the disabled--most at risk of losing over-the-air TV service or most in need of help to continue to receive a TV signal. It also looked for ones who could focus on the 82 markets with the greatest number of over-the-air analog viewers.
The groups will conduct seminars, help viewers buy and install DTV-to-analog converter boxes, provide call centers, and more.
The money comes from $20 million Congress appropriated last year for DTV outreach.
For a summary of what each group will be doing and how much money it got, click here.
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