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The Night The TVs Go Out
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The commission also ruled this month that cable operators must carry broadcasters' analog signals for three years after the transition, so the 40 million basic, non-digital cable subscribers will still receive broadcast channels.
Congress allocated $1.5 billion to the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration to provide coupons for consumers to purchase digital-to-analog converter boxes. Starting in January, each household can request up to two $40 coupons toward a converter box.
Consumer education has been extensive but disjointed. The NTIA received $5 million for its consumer-education campaign. The FCC launched a Web site, DTV.gov. The DTV Transition Coalition, made up of about 120 public, private and nonprofit groups, is trying to coordinate outreach efforts. And cable operators, broadcasters and the Consumer Electronics Association are beginning to air multimillion-dollar ad campaigns.
In addition, the FCC and the NTIA both held education workshops this week. Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.), chairman of the Special Committee on Aging, this week introduced a bill that would require the two agencies to partner with industry groups on education.
But some lawmakers and consumer advocates say that each campaign carries a different message, further confusing consumers.
A survey last month by the Association of Public Television Stations showed that 51 percent of Americans are still unaware of the transition.
"Congress is in essence expecting the industry players to fund the campaign themselves," said Carol Mattey, director of telecommunications regulatory consulting at Deloitte & Touche. "Any kind of mandate involves costs and affects the bottom line."
Broadcasters stand to lose the most from an ill-informed audience, Mattey said. If viewers wake up next winter to a blank TV screen, broadcasters run the risk of losing advertising dollars.
"The last thing we want is some sort of consumer revolt in 2009 due to lack of information," said Dennis Wharton, spokesman for the National Association of Broadcasters. "Our very business model is at stake here, and we only have one chance to get this transition right."
The NAB estimates that 15 million households have secondary sets that rely on over-the-air signals.
Although TV manufacturers no longer produce analog sets, some retailers are still selling them without warning consumers of their short life expectancy. The FCC issued citations to several hundred stores with potential fines totaling more than $3 million for failing to comply.
In stores run by top retailers like Best Buy and Target, many sales associates provided "incorrect and misleading information" about the digital transition, often telling consumers their only option is to buy a new TV set, according to a survey of Northern Virginia stores by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group.
The finger-pointing could get nasty if the transition doesn't go smoothly, especially since the cut-over date is just after the presidential election, Mattey said. "Will one party be blaming the other for dropping the ball?"