DTv Date [Not] Moved To Oct 13
The crowd of broadcasters at the National Association of Broadcasters Education Foundation (NABEF) Service To America awards presentation in Washington Monday night got really quiet as they listened to what appeared to be some late-breaking news delivered deadpan by Republican FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell.
“I was just backstage actually and I just recieved a text message which may affect some of you,” he said as the group listened intently, the clink of silverware and chatter of of tabletalk giving way to the kind of hush usually reserved for a poolroom fight involving Leroy Brown.
“Apparently, and for the congressinal staff and members of Congress [in the audience] may not know this yet,” McDowell continued, “the leadership of both houses has agreed in principle to legislation that will extend until October 12 [at this point laughter broke out in the room as they realized it was a joke, or at least hoped it was] the DTV transition. “And this was at the request apparently of the NAB Radio Board,” he added. “So, the next round of drinks is on them.”
McDowell was presenting the Service To Children award to WCIU and owner Weigel Broadcasting, giving them a shout-out for volunteering to be an analog nightlight station, then a double shout-out as the only station in the Chicago market to keep the analog nightlight burning.
McDowell described the station’s Green Screen Adventures program, where a local improv group (such groups in Chicago must the the equivalent of mime troops in San Francisco) brings kid-created content to life each weekday on the station–it is an independent. After the video showing the kids productions, McDowell joked: “Why in the heck would they do that without a government mandate to do so,” he said, to laughter and applause from the audience. “But that is a discussion for another day.” McDowell has long argued that stations are probably in a better position than the government to know how best to serve their local communities, which is what the Service To America awards is all about.
Weigel President Norman Shapiro accepted the award with a defense of the independence of independent broadcasters. “We are fortunate to be independent. We don’t have to call New York or some investment bankers for permission to do something,” he said. “Being independent, being free, gives us the moral opportunity to do projects like Green Screen Adventures. And we are and remain independent, notwithstanding the legislative and regulatory trend toward consolidation and resulting leverage of the big against the small. We think independence is valuable.”
Shapiro also had a bit of news. He said that beginning in the fall, Green Screen Adventures would be available nationally on This TV, the digital multicast broadcast network Weigel launched with MGM last November that he said would soon clear about 70% of the country.
NAB joint board chairman and Belo senior Adviser Jack Sander put in a plug for on-screen plugs. Giving a TV service award to ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, he pointed out that without all those companies provided material and money in exchange for getting their name and logo in the show, “it could not provide the invaluable service to families in need, showing the “positive power of product placement.
But the longest and loudest applause was reserved for a couple of showstealers. They were the cute-as-buttons, bubbly-as-sparking cider, poised-beyond-their years Kelsi and Rachel Okun, daughters of NBC Washington executive Bob Okun. They received the Guardian Award for their THANKS USA initiative, which encourages donations to a fund to help educate the families of service men and women. Okun’s vest buttons all appeared to be intact after the ceremony.
In three yeras, the THANKS USA program has raised and awarded over $5 million to spouses and children of service members.
Dave Lougee, president of Gannett Broadcasting, had some advice for an audience in search of the “up” in a down market. “All of us in the broadcasting industry are dealing with audience fragmentation and changing business models,” he said. “All of us are looking for those things that make us unique in our marketplace, and I think that this is a good night for us all to remind ourselves that nothing makes us more unique and relevant than the way we serve our communities, and never have our communities needed us more than they do now in all of our professional lifetime.”
At one point early in the proceedings, NAB Education Foundation Presdient Marcellus Alexander pointed out that there were only 4 days to the DTV transition, and got a rousing cheer (of relief?) from the crowd.
A brief, informal poll of some attendees resulted in a consensus that there would be some folks who would need help after June 12, but that the DTV switch-over June 12 would not result in major problems for either broadcasters or their viewers. “We were ready Feb. 17,” said one NAB board member.
T Dog commented:
Ummm, dude... this transition happened already. Like four years ago.
Ernat commented:
Digital is coming. End of story. (Public coemnmt and arguments regarding the best use of the spectrum are long over and the decision is past any possible chance of revocation.)The coupon program' was a non-starter from the beginning. Whether it is a case of simple poor design or intentional obfuscation is a moot argument today. It didn't work and can't be fixed.Solve the problem by quickly instituting a mail-in rebate' program. Buy a box, apply for a rebate. There are commercial firms in place which can administer the program (just as they do for hundreds of manufacturers). No new government agency needed.Given assurance that a rebate is in place there is no reason to delay the transition.Only new program' that would be needed is a data base disallowing double dipping' by using coupon and rebate. This is another simple data base exercise that private firms can easily handle.Will it leak' and some subvert the system? Of course. What man devises, man will subvert, but the costs will be far less than the delay would impose on the public. (Yes, we the public will be the ones paying for the costs to all the TV stations, cell phone companies and regulators who would pay' for the delay.)Think outside the box, solve the problem, get on with the transition and life. We have far bigger problems that need our and Congress' attention.
SiuHin commented:
Please do some research brefoe putting such Fact: The delay till June does not require any delay by broadcasters. Broadcasters can still switch on February 17th and many will. In fact MOST may. Of 1700 or so broadcasters over 700 have already notified the FCC they will. Hawaii already has.Fact: This is not a switch since broadcasters have been digital since as early as 1998. Where were you the last ten years telling people about the switch ? Anyone could have switched to digital for most of the last ten years.Fact: The US has the worst digital TV modulation in the world. Because NO one, broadcasters, vendors or retailers, got on board and told anyone about it most people think it is a one day event maybe this month. Where were you when Congress and the FCC first foisted this junk on us and, when we refused to buy, crammed it down our throat with a MANDATE for receivers in every TV even though at least 85% of us use cable or satellite? Where were you when they then decided to subsidize converter boxes for the poor that were crippled as SD instead of HD?If you had wanted to help the poor you could have been paying attention. As it is we are seeing the DEATH of over the air free broadcasting,,, BY DESIGN!BY DESIGN of broadcasters who have a conflict of interest with the spectrum we gave them for free. They now get paid by cable per subscriber for their free over the air content. Why would broadcasters want an over the air system that works that well? Every OTA customer is lost revenue.In other countries such as the UK 73% of homes now have at least one over the air digital receiver. There was NO subsidy. There was NO mandate. People bought receivers because the modulation worked and everyone got on board. They did this all since 2004 not 1998.Do some research.