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Jonathan Collegio

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Denis Gursky
Denis Gursky

The document provides an overview of the digital television transition that occurred in the United States. It discusses key dates, the spectrum auction, consumer options, education efforts, and results. The transition required broadcasters to upgrade infrastructure at a cost of over $5 billion and viewers to take action to continue receiving over-the-air television signals. A massive consumer education campaign utilized TV, internet, and grassroots outreach to achieve 98% awareness among viewers. On June 12, 2009, the transition was completed with an estimated 1-1.5 million households unprepared despite extensive information efforts.

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Digital Television (DTV) Transition Campaign Overview
DTV Transition American DTV Transition Basics   Original transition date: February 17, 2009   Obama Administration delayed date to June 12, 2009, but 421 stations transitioned on original date   Broadcasters spent over $5 billion updating infrastructure   Most stations (93%) already broadcasted in digital at time of transition
DTV Transition DTV Transition Basics   Spectrum loss – 700 mhz band •  Auctioned for commercial, wireless use •  Allocated to “public safety” uses   Most TV stations simulcasting in both analog and digital during transition •  Legislation allocated extra “simulcast” channels for digital broadcasts •  After transition, analog broadcasts disappeared
DTV Transition DTV Transition Basics   Upside: Viewers Benefit •  Crystal clear pictures and sound •  More channels through multicasting •  High-definition (HD) broadcasting available in all U.S. media markets   Downside: Upgrade requires action •  Viewers must take action to upgrade, or will lose reception
DTV Transition Consumer Options   Purchase a new TV set with a digital tuner •  All new TV sets have digital “ATSC” tuners •  Cost: $99-up (some DTV sets are not HD or flat screen)   Purchase a digital-analog converter box •  Cost: $40-70 •  Available an 20,000+ retailers nationwide •  Federal government provided $40 coupons   Subscribe to multi-channel service •  Cable, satellite or telephone company (fiber optic) TV service   Some consumers may need to upgrade antennas
DTV Transition Consumer Education Campaign Audience Broadcast Household Universe   17% (19.6m) of American households are exclusively OTA   14% (14.9m) households have some antenna TV sets   31% (34.5m) of American households have at least some OTA Disproportionately Affected Groups   Seniors   Minorities   Low Income   Rural Areas
DTV Awareness General awareness fully saturated at 98% by April
DTV Transition U.S. Government Actors   U.S. Department of Commerce/National Telecommunications Information Administration (NTIA) •  Oversee $1.5 billion coupon program and marketing   Federal Communications Commission (FCC) •  Chief regulator, focus on consumer education and broadcaster mandates •  Ran DTV phone call center
DTV Transition Government Resources Dedicated   U.S. Department of Commerce: $1.5 billion •  Coupon program, outreach   FCC: $25 million •  Consumer outreach •  Public Relations •  Phone center   “Stimulus” legislation •  $650 million for coupons, outreach
DTV Transition Industry Resources Dedicated   Television Broadcasters: $1.2 billion •  Television spots, crawls, snipes, programming •  Grassroots efforts •  Voluntary efforts   Cable Industry: $200 million •  Public Service Announcements •  Marketing efforts
DTV Transition Coupon Program Basics   Part of 2005 DTV Transition law   $1.5 billion allocated to coupons to help viewers upgrade   $40 coupon toward purchase of government-certified converter boxes   Certified boxes are basic •  No DVD players, special features   Two coupons allocated per household
DTV Transition
DTV Transition Retailer Participation   Retailers must be certified to participate in program, to avoid fraud   20,000+ retail locations selling boxes with coupons   Includes 8 of 10 top retailers, including Best Buy, Circuit City, Sears, K-Mart, Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club, Radio Shack, Target
DTV Transition Coupon Statistics   Coupons Requested: 64.1 million   Coupons Redeemed: 34.5 million   Redemption Rate: 55.0%   Average Daily Orders: YTD 108,000   Retailers/Locations: 28,000+   Phone/Online Retailers: 8/22   Government-certified converter boxes: 191
DTV Transition Converter Box Coupon Problem   Coupons have 90 day expiration   Redemption rate is 55%   Government must account for all outstanding coupons as spent funds – even though all would not be redeemed  The government cannot issue more coupons until unused coupons expire  Waitlist created 1/5/09  Talks to delay transition date began on 1/8/09
DTV Transition Date Delay   Wait list: Millions of viewers would not get coupons before transition date   President-elect Obama (1/8/09): DTV Transition date must be delayed   Congress: Debated date change until 2/4/09; passed date change
DTV Transition Date Delay Complications   Law allowed stations flexibility to go on 2/17 schedule if they chose •  Many had to transition due to transmission tower leases, equipment sales, etc.   421 stations chose to go digital on 2/17   Result: Smooth transition •  12.4m over the air households in affected markets •  50,000 calls to FCC – mostly on re-scanning
DTV Transition June 12, 2009 Consumer awareness: 98%+ Unaided Date Awareness: 66% •  Tax Day Date Awareness: 58% Consumer readiness: 88% of OTA •  3% have take some action (have coupon) •  9% have taken no action •  2.1 million unready as of last Friday (25% have coupons)  Campaign reached point where remaining households refused action
DTV Preparedness
DTV Transition Results
DTV Transition Results Consumer side went well   Only 1-1.5 million out of 20 million affected households did not take action Some technical issues   Stations broadcasting in low-VHF spectrum had issues reaching viewers in digital •  Some requested power expansions from FCC •  Some power expansions interfered with other stations •  Many had to help consumers purchase better antennas
How did we get there? Broadcast TV Industry’s Consumer Education Campaign   Airwaves   News and PR   Grassroots initiatives
Outreach: DTV Action Spots On-Air Campaign   Spots •  16 spots per week per station required by FCC •  Spots by NAB, cable industry, local stations   Programming •  30 minute program required as long-form information •  Produced by NAB, local station versions   Crawls, Snipes   Analog “shut-off” tests •  Stations simulate analog shutoffs during programming to demonstrate what will happen. (Note that these tests are not perfect).  NAB created industry plan; FCC made NAB’s plan the “baseline” for station action
DTV Public Relations Media Outreach   19,000 contacts with reporters   Over 17,000 stories generated   Reporter briefings and demonstrations: •  New York •  Chicago •  Silicon Valley •  Washington DC •  Various state capitals  Good PR is key to calming anxiety among lawmakers and educating consumers in-depth
DTV Web Outreach Online   While only half of broadcast-only households had Internet at home, still a key to distributing in-depth information •  DTVAnswers.com •  DTV.gov •  DTVTransition.org •  Antennaweb.org •  LPTVAnswers.com •  Facebook.com
DTV Transition Grassroots Initiatives   DTV Transition Coalition •  241 organizations   DTV Speakers Bureau •  1000+ speakers, 8300+ speeches   DTV Road Show   Church Outreach   Local Government toolkits to 10,000+ officials
Outreach: DTV Road Show 600 Events Nationwide DTV Trekker stop in Laredo, Texas
Central Challenges Antennas maximize reception… But in some cases, are necessary to upgrade •  Problem: VHF-UHF issue •  Problem: Changing signal contours Re-scanning is crucial •  Many channels changing in the broadcast spectrum •  Viewers must re-scan to get all the channels available Some stations changed coverage areas •  When signal contours change, viewers must be alerted •  Difficult to communicate to viewers
Key Lessons 1. Synthesize government efforts   In U.S., two government agencies were tasked with different goals, held different leaders, and communicated poorly. Best to have all government operations under one roof. 2. Coordinate messaging   NAB’s DTV Transition Coalition of 241 organizations got all parties using the same message, instead of different messages from different industries.
Key Lessons 3. Don’t schedule Transition after an election   U.S. DTV transition scheduled one month after new president took office. Bush and Obama had different priorities, and government change created leadership transitions at tops of government agencies. 4. Coordinate initiatives among major actors   Example: Broadcasters took lead on consumer education, so commercials by government agencies were unnecessary. Avoid duplicate initiatives.
Key lessons 5. Engineers must communicate   Crucial for broadcast, cable, and satellite engineers to coordinate with one another. Periodic conference calls are important. 6. Phone Center is crucial   Make sure some party (government, cable, broadcasters) is coordinating a robust call center to answer viewer questions.
Key Lessons 7. Some viewers will need help   Some viewers will need more than financial assistance to upgrade; for example, some older viewers may not be able to connect the box or move a TV set. Plans should be made by private industry and government to help these viewers, but also to avoid any fraudulent activities.

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Jonathan Collegio

  • 2. DTV Transition American DTV Transition Basics   Original transition date: February 17, 2009   Obama Administration delayed date to June 12, 2009, but 421 stations transitioned on original date   Broadcasters spent over $5 billion updating infrastructure   Most stations (93%) already broadcasted in digital at time of transition
  • 3. DTV Transition DTV Transition Basics   Spectrum loss – 700 mhz band •  Auctioned for commercial, wireless use •  Allocated to “public safety” uses   Most TV stations simulcasting in both analog and digital during transition •  Legislation allocated extra “simulcast” channels for digital broadcasts •  After transition, analog broadcasts disappeared
  • 4. DTV Transition DTV Transition Basics   Upside: Viewers Benefit •  Crystal clear pictures and sound •  More channels through multicasting •  High-definition (HD) broadcasting available in all U.S. media markets   Downside: Upgrade requires action •  Viewers must take action to upgrade, or will lose reception
  • 5. DTV Transition Consumer Options   Purchase a new TV set with a digital tuner •  All new TV sets have digital “ATSC” tuners •  Cost: $99-up (some DTV sets are not HD or flat screen)   Purchase a digital-analog converter box •  Cost: $40-70 •  Available an 20,000+ retailers nationwide •  Federal government provided $40 coupons   Subscribe to multi-channel service •  Cable, satellite or telephone company (fiber optic) TV service   Some consumers may need to upgrade antennas
  • 6. DTV Transition Consumer Education Campaign Audience Broadcast Household Universe   17% (19.6m) of American households are exclusively OTA   14% (14.9m) households have some antenna TV sets   31% (34.5m) of American households have at least some OTA Disproportionately Affected Groups   Seniors   Minorities   Low Income   Rural Areas
  • 7. DTV Awareness General awareness fully saturated at 98% by April
  • 8. DTV Transition U.S. Government Actors   U.S. Department of Commerce/National Telecommunications Information Administration (NTIA) •  Oversee $1.5 billion coupon program and marketing   Federal Communications Commission (FCC) •  Chief regulator, focus on consumer education and broadcaster mandates •  Ran DTV phone call center
  • 9. DTV Transition Government Resources Dedicated   U.S. Department of Commerce: $1.5 billion •  Coupon program, outreach   FCC: $25 million •  Consumer outreach •  Public Relations •  Phone center   “Stimulus” legislation •  $650 million for coupons, outreach
  • 10. DTV Transition Industry Resources Dedicated   Television Broadcasters: $1.2 billion •  Television spots, crawls, snipes, programming •  Grassroots efforts •  Voluntary efforts   Cable Industry: $200 million •  Public Service Announcements •  Marketing efforts
  • 11. DTV Transition Coupon Program Basics   Part of 2005 DTV Transition law   $1.5 billion allocated to coupons to help viewers upgrade   $40 coupon toward purchase of government-certified converter boxes   Certified boxes are basic •  No DVD players, special features   Two coupons allocated per household
  • 13. DTV Transition Retailer Participation   Retailers must be certified to participate in program, to avoid fraud   20,000+ retail locations selling boxes with coupons   Includes 8 of 10 top retailers, including Best Buy, Circuit City, Sears, K-Mart, Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club, Radio Shack, Target
  • 14. DTV Transition Coupon Statistics   Coupons Requested: 64.1 million   Coupons Redeemed: 34.5 million   Redemption Rate: 55.0%   Average Daily Orders: YTD 108,000   Retailers/Locations: 28,000+   Phone/Online Retailers: 8/22   Government-certified converter boxes: 191
  • 15. DTV Transition Converter Box Coupon Problem   Coupons have 90 day expiration   Redemption rate is 55%   Government must account for all outstanding coupons as spent funds – even though all would not be redeemed  The government cannot issue more coupons until unused coupons expire  Waitlist created 1/5/09  Talks to delay transition date began on 1/8/09
  • 16. DTV Transition Date Delay   Wait list: Millions of viewers would not get coupons before transition date   President-elect Obama (1/8/09): DTV Transition date must be delayed   Congress: Debated date change until 2/4/09; passed date change
  • 17. DTV Transition Date Delay Complications   Law allowed stations flexibility to go on 2/17 schedule if they chose •  Many had to transition due to transmission tower leases, equipment sales, etc.   421 stations chose to go digital on 2/17   Result: Smooth transition •  12.4m over the air households in affected markets •  50,000 calls to FCC – mostly on re-scanning
  • 18. DTV Transition June 12, 2009 Consumer awareness: 98%+ Unaided Date Awareness: 66% •  Tax Day Date Awareness: 58% Consumer readiness: 88% of OTA •  3% have take some action (have coupon) •  9% have taken no action •  2.1 million unready as of last Friday (25% have coupons)  Campaign reached point where remaining households refused action
  • 21. DTV Transition Results Consumer side went well   Only 1-1.5 million out of 20 million affected households did not take action Some technical issues   Stations broadcasting in low-VHF spectrum had issues reaching viewers in digital •  Some requested power expansions from FCC •  Some power expansions interfered with other stations •  Many had to help consumers purchase better antennas
  • 22. How did we get there? Broadcast TV Industry’s Consumer Education Campaign   Airwaves   News and PR   Grassroots initiatives
  • 23. Outreach: DTV Action Spots On-Air Campaign   Spots •  16 spots per week per station required by FCC •  Spots by NAB, cable industry, local stations   Programming •  30 minute program required as long-form information •  Produced by NAB, local station versions   Crawls, Snipes   Analog “shut-off” tests •  Stations simulate analog shutoffs during programming to demonstrate what will happen. (Note that these tests are not perfect).  NAB created industry plan; FCC made NAB’s plan the “baseline” for station action
  • 24. DTV Public Relations Media Outreach   19,000 contacts with reporters   Over 17,000 stories generated   Reporter briefings and demonstrations: •  New York •  Chicago •  Silicon Valley •  Washington DC •  Various state capitals  Good PR is key to calming anxiety among lawmakers and educating consumers in-depth
  • 25. DTV Web Outreach Online   While only half of broadcast-only households had Internet at home, still a key to distributing in-depth information •  DTVAnswers.com •  DTV.gov •  DTVTransition.org •  Antennaweb.org •  LPTVAnswers.com •  Facebook.com
  • 26. DTV Transition Grassroots Initiatives   DTV Transition Coalition •  241 organizations   DTV Speakers Bureau •  1000+ speakers, 8300+ speeches   DTV Road Show   Church Outreach   Local Government toolkits to 10,000+ officials
  • 27. Outreach: DTV Road Show 600 Events Nationwide DTV Trekker stop in Laredo, Texas
  • 28. Central Challenges Antennas maximize reception… But in some cases, are necessary to upgrade •  Problem: VHF-UHF issue •  Problem: Changing signal contours Re-scanning is crucial •  Many channels changing in the broadcast spectrum •  Viewers must re-scan to get all the channels available Some stations changed coverage areas •  When signal contours change, viewers must be alerted •  Difficult to communicate to viewers
  • 29. Key Lessons 1. Synthesize government efforts   In U.S., two government agencies were tasked with different goals, held different leaders, and communicated poorly. Best to have all government operations under one roof. 2. Coordinate messaging   NAB’s DTV Transition Coalition of 241 organizations got all parties using the same message, instead of different messages from different industries.
  • 30. Key Lessons 3. Don’t schedule Transition after an election   U.S. DTV transition scheduled one month after new president took office. Bush and Obama had different priorities, and government change created leadership transitions at tops of government agencies. 4. Coordinate initiatives among major actors   Example: Broadcasters took lead on consumer education, so commercials by government agencies were unnecessary. Avoid duplicate initiatives.
  • 31. Key lessons 5. Engineers must communicate   Crucial for broadcast, cable, and satellite engineers to coordinate with one another. Periodic conference calls are important. 6. Phone Center is crucial   Make sure some party (government, cable, broadcasters) is coordinating a robust call center to answer viewer questions.
  • 32. Key Lessons 7. Some viewers will need help   Some viewers will need more than financial assistance to upgrade; for example, some older viewers may not be able to connect the box or move a TV set. Plans should be made by private industry and government to help these viewers, but also to avoid any fraudulent activities.