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Public TV Group Urges More Education on DTV Switch
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Digital Television Transition
Written by Video Savant
Tuesday, 05 June 2007
According to a story in the Morning Bridge newsletter, a study conducted by US public television stations finds that a significant percentage of the households that receive television solely over the air are unaware of the pending move to digital broadcasting and the corresponding shutdown of the analog system. And these viewers are largely clueless about what they need to do to continue receiving local TV broadcasts after February 17, 2009.
The conclusion of the public broadcasters? Government needs to spend more money to educate the public about the transition, suggesting it will require a "Y2K"-style awareness campaign.
My conclusion? Broadcasters -- both public and commercial -- need to take some initiative before looking for government handouts.
From today's Morning Bridge newsletter:
A study released Monday suggests TV viewers are not prepared for the nation's switch to digital TV. In order to get consumers on board with the upcoming change, there needs to be a "Y2K" type effort to ensure a smooth transition.
The survey from the Association of Public Television Stations stated that 22 million off-air homes could move slowly towards digital TV. Off-air homes have resisted campaigns from satellite and cable to switch to a pay service that could help them bridge the DTV gap, the group said. Also, retail efforts which aim to educate off-air households about the February 2009 digital transition are likely to have limited impact given that over-the-air viewers lag in purchases of TV sets, APTS suggested.
An earlier APTS report revealed that 61 percent of off-air households had "no idea" the DTV transition was taking place.
"Public broadcasters have long supported a successful DTV transition. However, our study confirms that the government grossly under-funded consumer education when it mandated the end of television as most people know it by February 2009," said APTS President and CEO John Lawson.
"We need a Y2K-level effort to ensure that people are aware that their older TV sets will go dark in 21 months if they don't acquire a digital converter, buy a new set or incur the monthly cost of a cable or satellite bill. They also need to know that digital over-the-air television will continue to be free, will offer them many more channels and will give them a better picture even on an older set-if they get a converter box," Lawson said.
This is incredibly lame and a classic example of everything that is wrong with the notion that government should now be the first course for solving EVERY problem that comes along.
Public television stations should be concerned about its off-air-only viewers knowing more about the the fact that analog PBS is going away in 2009. And they should use those publicly provided airwaves to provide viewers with information about this change.
I find it impossible to believe that PBS and its local public broadcasters can't create some very basic public service spots that inform viewers about the end of analog television in 2009. To start, this could be a simple series of Powerpoint-type slides with music/voiceover, including at the end a web address where more information can be found for those with online access at home, work, school or local public library.
And really, this goes double for commercial broadcasters. These stations control the most powerful medium for information dissemination in the free world, and they've lifted hardly a finger to educate their own viewers about the coming end of analog TV.
Based on the lack of action, it seems that commercial broadcasters consider this someone else's problem, when in fact it's entirely in their own self-interest to ensure this information gets out and is understood by viewers. The lack of any real effort by broadcasters is a serious failure to look out not only for its own interests, but also those of its viewers, advertisers and shareholders.
Public and commercial broadcasters need to "man up" on the responsibility front. I'd suggest they begin today, by taking basic steps along the lines suggested above and then survey the situation again in 6 months. That would still leave plenty of time for a government-subsidized campaign, if that really proves to be necessary.
Video Savant 
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