NAB Wants Eyes On Wilmington DTV Switch

The National Association of Broadcasters wants to make sure that the government is paying sufficient attention to the potential problems with its Wilmington (NC) test of the switch to digital TV. Concerned that the National Telecommunications & Information Administration is bogged down with DTV-to-analog converter box coupon requests, the National Association of Broadcasters President David Rehr has asked NTIA acting head Meredith Baker to make requests from Wilmington a priority. Rehr urged NTIA and the FCC to get together to make sure that converter boxes that pass through an analog signal be made available as soon as possible. He pointed out that the CBS station in the market is a low-power station that is not currently broadcasting in digital -- low powers don't have any deadline for their conversion, in contrast to full-power stations who must already be broadcasting a digital signal and pull the plug on analog Feb. 17, 2009. NAB also asked for a weekly update from NTIA on coupon applications and redemptions in the Wilmington DMA. Last week, Baker said 5% of the Wilmington market have requested more than 23,000 coupons.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6561427.html?rssid=193