FCC Gets More Time To Respond On DTV Campaign
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 6/11/2007 1:28:00 PM
Don't look for the FCC weigh in just yet on its plans for a DTV education campaign.Leading House Democrats had given FCC Chairman Kevin Martin until June 11 to fill them in on what the FCC was doing about educating the public on the DTV transition, including how it planned to spend the $1.5 million it got from Congress and when it planned to begin the campaign.
But the FCC has asked for and received a couple more days to provide that answer
The heads of the House Energy & Commerce Committee and Telecommunications Subcommittee argue that the DTV transition is being jeopardized by a “lack of leadership at the federal level” on consumer education.
In the letter to Martin, House Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell (D-Mich.) and Telecommunications and Internet Subcommittee Chairman Ed Markey (D-Mass.) also asked whether the FCC should compel broadcasters to start their education campaign.
According to Jonathan Collegio, who is running NAB's DTV transition education effort, its multimillion campaign will begin before the year is out. Some at NAB had talked of starting the campaign in 2008. The government must be ready to start accepting applications for analog-to-DTV converter boxes starting in January 2008.
