DTV Stakeholders Mark 100 Days Until Analog Shut-Off
Pennsylvania stations to conduct largest cut-off test to date next week
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 11/10/2008 10:52:00 AM
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DTV Countdown
With NBC White House correspondent David Gregory calling on reporters from the podium rather than asking the questions, broadcasters, government officials and other stakeholders marked the 100th day 'til the Feb. 17, DTV transition date with a littany of past deeds and pledges of more to come.
The tenor of the press conference at the Newseum Monday morning--delayed briefly by a fire drill--was that government and industry had been working well together to alert viewers of the switc and that most people were aware of it
For instance, David Rehr pointed out that 150 stations in 49 markets had conducted soft analog shut-off tests. He said that next week, TV stations in Pennsylvania would be holding a statewide analog cut-off test, which he called the largest such test to date.
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, who flashed his own DTV-to-analog converter box coupon during the event, said cooperation had been crucial. Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate praised the billion-dollar industry education campaign, but said the transition was about more than pretty pictures, saying it was also about saving lives and using spectrum more efficiently.
Commissioner Robert McDowell put in a plug for soft analog cut-off tests, more long-form PSAs and tailoring messages to local markets.
"With only 60 seconds," he joked, "I won't be talking about the Fairness Doctrine today." The reference was to the growing concern that Democrats may push for reimposition of the FCC doctrine requiring broadcasters to air both sides of controversial issues.
The DTV transition event was not entirely a mutual admiration society meeting--though there was agreement the Feb. 17 date was going to stick.
Joe Uva, CEO of Univision, said that Nielsen had severely understimated the number of over-the-air households, pointing out that his Hispanic viewer constituency was particularly at risk of losing TV signals (Univision has aired over 70,000 PSA's, he said). "we need to have accurate counts of all consumers, and especially Hispanics in this country, who may be receiving their signal free to air."
"As we learned from our tests in Wilmington, NC, and seven soft analog tests we participated in various markets around the country, Nielsen has understimated potentially up to 40-50% the acdtual nubmer of people" who will need cable, satellite or a converter box," he said.
Uva said his company and Nielsen had been discussing the, but also said it needed to be resolved.
"We're pretty confident our number is right," said Nielsen spokesman Gary Holmes in response to Uva's comments, adding that, "We have been in close contact with our clients on this issue. We recognize this is an iimportant matter for out clients and our goal is to provide the best estimate that we can based on wahat we observe in the sample [of 16,000 households, or about 45,00 poeple," he said].
Mark Lloyd, VP of strategic initiatives for the Leadership Conference On Civil Rights, said the FCC and others needed to work together to make sure there was a "rapid response" team in place after the transition to help deal with those who might have lost their signals despite the government and industry efforts. "It is time to honestly ackonwledge that many Americans will turn on their analog televisions on Feb. 8 and find themselves in the dark."
Martin said the FCC had plans to expand its call center for fielding calls for help from viewers, and would continue to work with grass roots organizations "to make sure that they have plans in place trying to help consumers on the ground." The FCC has gotten some more money from Congress for the transition and will use some of that money.
But Lloyd, who said he has discussed his concerns with President-elect Barack Obama's transition team, was not completely satisfied with that answer. While conceding the FCC and others had worked hard, he said a more coordinated effort was needed. "The transition is complicated and confused. We've got multiple agencies involved in this... We don't think there is a unified approach...and there needs to be."
Lloyd said he understood there were very important priorities with the economy, Afghanistan and Iraq, but said it was also important to make sure people still had access to over-the-air TV, equating it with a civil right. He said he thought it would be "wonderful" if President-elect Obama would use his "bully pulpit," as one reporter called it, to talk up the DTV transition.
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Sure, I'll take the bet... because this industry would lose far more in lost ad revenues due to a shrunken audience base than stations would save in electricity costs. Ad people are smart; they're going to demand make-goods and rate reductions based on viewers lost to the "cliff effect" as well as those who aren't ready for the switch. Can stations afford to cut ad rates by 5-10 percent due to "DTV market shrinkage?" My shadow "insider" does not take into account a reduced coverage footprint due to DTV's less robust ability to punch thru, especially in rain. The industry needs signal repeaters, and they're not in place. Nielsen estimates that nearly nine million TVHH are not ready. Univision execs say the number is much higher. And reception problems among those who ARE ready will adversely impact ad revenues. Better to take 2-1/2 more years to phase in the mandatory switch-over than to go "cold turkey." And coordinating with Canada just makes good business sense for those stations along the northern border and Alaska. The elderly, the poor, Hispanics, are among those disproportionately affected by analog shut-off. There is no meaningful financial downside to stations here -- quite the opposite.
Vic Livingston, columnist, members.nowpublic.com/scrivener - 11/11/2008 12:53:00 PM EST -
Sure, the date can be delayed. Lets think, all these ads promoting a date and suddenly it gets moved to 2011. Which would be more of an outrage? Even if the government were to decide to move the date, how much do you want to wager that some markets will take the matter into their own hands and just go for it? There are those going early already. There is money to be saved in a down economy by turning off additional transmitters. So, willing to place that 2011 bet are you?
Insider - 11/11/2008 11:27:00 AM EST -
Although I'm certain that we are far from ready for the February 17, 2009 analog cutoff (notice that I didn't use the popular, but confusing word, "Switch"), putting the date off will help nothing.
Just as so many Americans (both broadcasters and viewers) are saying, "I'll wait until it happens", people will still wait until the NEXT deadline.
Postponing the cutoff will simply put it "on the back burner" for most people, and we'll be in the same fix later.
Ken W. English - 11/11/2008 9:51:00 AM EST -
Nearly 9 million TVHH "unready" for DTV, according to Nielsen, and with the elderly, the poor, Hispanics and the technically challenged about to be disenfranchised by the end of analog signals, there is little chance that the Obama administration and the Dem-controlled Congress will let analog die on Feb. 17th. Please put this question directly to Rahm Emanuel, who, as a congressman, is aware of the political impact. The industry and the public will be severely hurt if this cut-off "sticks." As the man said, it's being cast by the new administration as a civil rights/equal protection issue. Anyone willing to take a bet that the end of analog is again delayed? Aug. 31st, 2011 would be a good date; that's the Canadian deadline.
Vic Lvingston, columnist, members.nowpublic.com/scrivener - 11/10/2008 4:32:00 PM EST
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