Stations in Many DTV ‘Hot Spot’ Markets Confident About Friday

The majority of stations going all-digital Friday in the markets we polled will do so early in the day. That gives them time to answer consumer questions and in some cases run warning messages on their analog signal until midnight. In most of the 49 markets where the FCC has stepped up outreach, at least one station will run analog nightlight service for up to 30 days after June 12, commission officials said. Baltimore, where no broadcaster had initially volunteered, will likely be served by public station WMPT, with help from at least one commercial station, they said. An FCC spokesman had no information on which markets will have nightlight service.

Several of the hot-spot markets have higher rates of viewer readiness than the country as a whole, as measured by Nielsen. Broadcasters in some of those markets attributed that to analog cutoff simulations they've been running, so- called walk-in centers offering converter box installation and other help and other factors. “We've reached our over- the-air viewer really, really well,” said Valari Staab, general manager of ABC affiliate KGO San Francisco. “The occasional viewers” who don’t watch every day are probably going to be the only ones “caught off guard” Friday, she added.

Anxiety in Washington about the switchover in the runup to June 12 eased considerably since February, when all full- power stations were to have gone digital, before Congress delayed it four months. And broadcasters in the market are ready, said Jerald Fritz, general counsel for Allbritton Communications, owner of WJLA. “We've gone out of our way as much as we can to get the word out” and “thought we were ready in February, but others didn’t,” he said.

Still, “nobody wants to overlook the fact that there is still a large wave about to wash over us,” said Rob Stoddard, an NCTA senior vice president. “As the June 12 date approaches, admittedly everyone feels a little more on edge,” but “the experience gained over the last few months has really bolstered confidence that we will be able to make the transition smoothly, and most importantly with less disruption to consumers.” He credited acting FCC Chairman Michael Copps for asserting the commission as the lead agency in the switch and helping coordinate all the government and industry players in the switch.

Copps visited Los Angeles on Tuesday and Wednesday to talk up DTV. The commission has more than 200 staffers assigned to the 49 high-priority markets, said an agency spokesman. Commissioners have visited a total of 53 markets, many of those hot spots, to talk about DTV, he said. “There has been an active effort to work with media in those markets” by giving radio and TV interviews, the spokesman said. Last week, FCC officials were accompanied by Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Calif., in speaking to Sacramento-area residents about DTV, said Elliot Troshinsky, general manager of KCRA-TV and nearby KQCA. “I think we're in relatively good shape.”

KSNF Joplin, Mo., ran soft tests recently and received no phone calls, said General Manager John Hoffman, while GMs elsewhere said call volume has declined with each test. Still, KSNF will have some staff on hand Friday and Saturday to take calls just in case, said Hoffman. “You hate to get ahead of yourself on some of this stuff but I think for the most part Friday is going to be a non-event,” said Wayne Godsey, general manager of KCMB-TV and KCWE Kansas City, Mo. “Without being overconfident, I'm confident. I think we have done pretty much everything we can do to be prepared.”

There is sure to be some disruption Friday and over the weekend, others said. Nielsen estimated Wednesday that 2.8 million households remain unprepared for the switchover. “I think people are taking a false sense of hope out of something they shouldn’t,” said David Cohen, Comcast executive vice president. Even though many stations turned off analog signals in February, a far larger number of viewers will be affected by Friday’s turn off, he said. Still, the industry and government are far more prepared to handle the potential problems this week than they were in February, he said. “The ability of the FCC call center to handle calls is astronomically greater than it was in February.”

Of those 2.8 million unready households, a disproportionate amount are populated by younger people, African Americans and Hispanics, Nielsen said. After broadcasters switch off analog service, most of those householders will probably find a quick solution to the transition, the research firm said. “Given the importance that television plays in day-to-day lives of most people, we expect that most of the remaining unready homes will take the necessary steps to get ready once these station make the final switch,” said Sara Erichson, president of Nielsen media client services.

Stations in Florida, with two hot-spot markets, are ready to help those who aren’t ready come Friday, such as the elderly, said Pat Roberts, president of the state broadcaster association. “I think the number [of unprepared people] is going to be really, really small,” he said. “I hope and pray it’s going to be like Y2K and we wake up Saturday and say we're still here.”