Shapiro Cites DTV "Fear-mongering"

SHAPIRO CITES DTV "FEAR-MONGERING"
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Suggesting there was some"fear-mongering" about the transition to digital, Consumer Electronics Association President Gary Shapiro said on Monday that "consumers do not demand these [digital-to-analog converter] boxes as much as some people think they will." Speaking after a CEA forum in Washington on the DTV transition, Shapiro said the transition "will be uncomfortable and different, but that if we do our jobs right most consumers will know what their options are." During a forum panel on the transition, Shapiro said there was more alarmist talk than was justified given that there had been transitions before. However, he likened this one more to that between the horse and buggy and the car--more complicated than the transition from black and white television to color. "Less than 15% of homes will really be shut out totally," by the February 2009 transition to digital, he said, "and of those, some of them want to be shut out," he said. "There is fear-mongering going on, and frankly, it has become a political issue. Democrats are saying the Republicans didn't give enough money and the Democrats now are saying 'oh, we need more money.'" National Cable & Telecommunications Association President Kyle McSlarrow said he thought the difference between this and other transitions was that it was a government-mandated flash-cut to the new technology, which could require a pretty large education campaign to get right.
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* Shapiro: Dems Fear-Mongering DTV Move
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6427985.html?display=Breaking+News