More TV stations convert to digital

A total of 24 more television stations have begun broadcasting in digital,
bringing to 297 the total number of local broadcasters offering digital
television in their markets. Of those 24, nine are the first in their markets to
make the transition.

That is still far short of the total that needs to convert, however, with
nearly 900 of the country's 1,300 commercial television stations last month
asking the Federal Communications Commission for permission to delay their conversion at least six months and
possibly longer.

The stations that flipped the switch are: WHKY-TV in Charlotte, N.C.; WBTW-TV
in Florence, S.C.; WFLX-TV in West Palm Beach, Fla.; KXII-TV in Sherman, Texas;
WHNT-TV in Huntsville, Ala.; WBRZ-TV in Baton Rouge, La.; WJXT-TV and WJXX-TV in
Jacksonville, Fla.; KMOL-TV and KSAT-TV in San Antonio, Texas; WCIA-TV and
WCFN-TV in Champaign, Ill.; WTVQ-TV in Lexington, Ky.; WDEF-TV in Chattanooga,
Tenn.; WJPR-TV in Roanoke, Va.; KSLA-TV in Shreveport, La.; KUWB-TV in Salt Lake
City; WAXN-TV in Charlotte, N.C.; WFMY-TV in Greensboro, N.C.; WXTX (TV)
in Columbus, Ga.; WXLV (TV) in Winston-Salem, N.C.; KIMA (TV) in Yakima, Wash.;
KEPR (TV) in Richland, Wash.; and KLEW (TV) in Lewiston, Idaho.

Stations in 104 TV markets are currently broadcasting in digital, covering nearly 82
percent of the country, the National Association of Broadcasters said.

Paige Albiniak

Contributing editor Paige Albiniak has been covering the business of television for more than 25 years. She is a longtime contributor to Next TV, Broadcasting + Cable and Multichannel News. She concurrently serves as editorial director for The Global Entertainment Marketing Academy of Arts & Sciences (G.E.M.A.). She has written for such publications as TVNewsCheck, The New York Post, Variety, CBS Watch and more. Albiniak was B+C’s Los Angeles bureau chief from September 2002 to 2004, and an associate editor covering Congress and lobbying for the magazine in Washington, D.C., from January 1997 - September 2002.