Digital Television DTV Transition Campaign Overview 100 Day

Digital Television (DTV) Transition Campaign Overview

100 Day Initiatives Station Activities § Countdown spot to run on November 10 § “Less than 100 days” spot to run from 11/11 -11/17 § Animated graphic bugs to run each day • Download at www. dtvanswers. com/countdown § Consider analog shut-off test • Checklist available www. dtvanswers. com/shutofftest § News coverage of DTV issues • Converter box setup, antennas, apply for coupons now

100 Day Requirements Under NAB Plan (Option 2) § Each station must air at least one of the following, once per day: • Graphic Display • Animated Graphic • Graphic and Audio Display • Any of above must be 5 -15 seconds in length • Show number of days remaining until transition to digital • Include phone number and/or website for more details • Longer Form Reminders • “Ask the Expert” segment/Q&A • 2 -5 minutes

100 Day Requirements On the Phone: Erin Dozier Associate General Counsel NAB Ann Bobeck Associate General Counsel NAB

Digital Television (DTV) Transition Campaign Overview

DTV Transition Wilmington Experiment § Challenges • Multiple, confusing messages • Hard-to-reach populations • Technical/emergency issues • Short timeline • Severe weather

DTV Transition Wilmington Experiment § 97% awareness in August, held through September § Results: • • • 553 callers (29 percent) lost one or more channels – many WECT 407 callers (22 percent) “weak or spotty” signals/antenna problems 329 callers (18 percent) had trouble installing converter boxes 185 callers (10 percent) had problems with or awaited coupons 163 callers (9 percent) knew about the switch but waited too long 91 calls (5 percent) to FCC were unaware of switch, switch date or thought it would not affect them • 53 callers (3 percent) were satellite subscribers with local-into-local • 22 callers (2 percent) were cable plus households • The 25 remaining callers (2 percent) had other problems

DTV Transition Wilmington Experiment § Lessons Learned • • • Saturating with ads still may miss vulnerable populations Small number of late adopters will not upgrade in time Stations should urge viewers to take action early Analog shut-off tests can be helpful in gathering information Coordination between stations and pay service providers Periodic, structured conference calls with station GMs and engineers • Working with local organizations, especially social workers

Digital Television (DTV) Transition Campaign Overview

DTV Action Spots New Messaging § Urge viewers to enjoy digital NOW § Help others make transition • • Assist with coupon application Hook up converter box Get right antenna DTV checklist § New spots being delivered week of Nov. 18

Challenge: Coupons NTIA § 32, 682, 800 coupon applications received from 17, 456, 451 households § 13, 091, 287 coupons redeemed § 10, 184, 470 coupons expired § Average daily order: 128, 969 coupons per day § 79 converter boxes certified, 44 with analog pass through available in retail stores

Challenges: Coupons NTIA § Projections • Possible 6 week turnaround § Challenges

Digital Television (DTV) Transition Campaign Overview

Challenge: Antennas Some viewers may need to upgrade… • 1295 stations relocating to a channel different than their NTSC channel; many across bands • UHF antennas can’t pick up low VHF, and vice versa • Stations moving from UHF to VHF, or from VHF to UHF • May need rooftop or amplified antenna to pick up DTV signals • Multidirectional antennas should be promoted • Promote antennaweb. org

Challenge: Signal Contours Some stations’ analog signals are stronger than digital… • Solution: Newer, better, higher antennas • Solution: Communicate with viewers • Newscasts • Spots

Challenge: Re-Scan

Digital Television (DTV) Transition Campaign Overview

Challenge: Re-Scanning Re-scanning channels is crucial § Channels will move around as 2/17/09 approaches § Stations can maintain branding for their channels because of PSIP (Program and System Informational Protocol), but… § Viewers will need to re-scan if channels that were previously received disappear and after 2/17/09 when the channel relocations must be completed

Challenge: Call Center Answering viewer questions… § Approx. 2000 calls in Wilmington § Directed to FCC • But, on Feb 18 th, calls will be directed to stations

DTV Transition

Digital Television (DTV) Transition Campaign Overview

Best Practices Station Analog Shut-Off Tests § Simulating digital-only during newscasts § Approx. 144 stations in 49 markets thus far § Upcoming state-wide tests • • Pennsylvania North Carolina Virginia Arizona § Guide available at www. dtvanswers. com/shutofftest

DTV Transition • Weekly DTV E-mail (Wednesdays) § Satellite feed information • Latest details also at www. dtvanswers. com/satellitefeed § § New station tools added to website Webcast information News and regulatory updates Highlight station best practices

Outreach: NAB to Stations Resources § All station tools available at: www. dtvanswers. com/membertools • DTV Style Guide and Messaging Toolkit • Graphic elements available for stations: www. dtvanswers. com/graphicelements • Station Checklist: www. dtvanswers. com/checklist • “Cheat Sheet” to handle viewer phone calls • Sample op-ed on DTV Transition • Teaser copy for station news stories: www. dtvanswers. com/teasercopy • Sample crawls for stations: www. dtvanswers. com/crawlscopy

DTV Transition 103 Days Left!