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FCC launches DTV 'Speakers Bureau'

August 18, 2008

2 Min Read

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Communications Commission has launched a Speakers Bureau for groups throughout the country to request speakers to discuss the upcoming transition to Digital Television (DTV) at their meetings. The Speakers Bureau is the latest addition to the FCC’s DTV outreach effort. The Commission will provide speakers, without cost, to any group requesting one.

On February 17, 2009, all full-power broadcast television stations in the United States will stop broadcasting in analog and will continue broadcasting only in digital. The switch to all-digital broadcasting will free up the analog spectrum for public safety uses and will allow stations to offer improved picture and sound quality and additional channels.

In a separate release:

WASHINGTON -- FCC Chairman Kevin Martin today announced a nationwide initiative to increase awareness about the upcoming transition to digital television. The FCC identified target television markets for specific DTV outreach, including all those markets in which more than 100,000 households or at least 15% of the households rely solely on over-the-air signals for television.

Chairman Martin announced that the five FCC Commissioners and other Commission staff will fan out to these and other markets to raise awareness and educate consumers in the days leading up to the digital television transition on February 17, 2009.

At each stop, there will be a public event, such as a town hall meeting, workshop, or roundtable with an FCC Commissioner to highlight the digital transition, and be available to local press. In coordination with these visits, the FCC will work with local broadcasters and radio stations to increase the broadcasts of Radio and TV DTV PSAs. All combined, this outreach is designed to educate consumers in these DMAs and especially those groups that are most vulnerable in the transition: Seniors, People Living Tribal and Rural Areas, People with Disabilities, Individuals with Low-Incomes, Minorities and Non-English Speakers.

Chairman Martin was joined by representatives from the National Association of Broadcasters, Consumer Electronics Retailer Coalition, Consumer Electronics Association, and the National Cable Telecommunications Association for the announcement at the Newseum in Washington, DC, one of the television markets identified. The NAB and members of the DTV Coalition will be assisting the Commission throughout this nationwide tour.

“As part of our efforts to prepare consumers for the transition, we have identified television markets in which the largest number of viewers will have to take action to be prepared for the transition six months from now,” Martin said. “This unprecedented nationwide tour by the entire Commission is part of our commitment to prepare and educate consumers about the digital television transition.”

Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

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