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SkyFILES: A Better DTV Local Approach
by Michael Hopkins
Will what happened in Wilmington work for the rest of the nation?
The resources put into the single-market digital TV switch in the coastal North Carolina market earlier this month were extraordinary, to say the least. And as some said this week after the Senate Commerce Committee hearing on the digital TV transition, that localized effort would be very hard to duplicate - if not impossible - on a national scale.
The Federal Communications Commission opened an office at the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce. The Wilmington Fire Department made house calls - seriously - to help install converter boxes. The City of Wilmington received more than 300 calls from residents who had trouble getting a digital signal. Those calls were in addition to the thousands of calls received by the FCC.
It would be difficult to ask every local government entity across the nation to commit resources to ensure everyone has access to digital TV after Feb. 17, 2009. Don't expect every fire station to respond to every couch potato's worst nightmare … no television. And it's a good bet that the FCC won't open a Main Street office in every burg from Maine to California.
As regulators, lawmakers and others are figuring out, digital TV signals are local in nature. A national approach for the transition to DTV may not be the best strategy. It takes local resources to ensure that over-the-air viewers will have TV after the big switch.
Multiplatform companies could fulfill that local role.
For starters, broadcasters could do a better job in helping viewers with the pending switch. They can assist with the distribution - even the installation - of converter boxes. They should be taking a majority of technical calls. And, to be honest, broadcasters can step up their education efforts.
Cable can get into the act. While helping consumers with converter boxes may not be at the top of every MSO's to-do list, those calls could be perfect opportunities for a sales pitch, not only for video but for broadband and phone service. It's a good bet these consumers could be calling their local cable operator anyway for video service when analog signals go dark.
Satellite TV companies roll trucks in just about every neighborhood in the nation. One company - DISH Network - already has a big stake in the digital TV transition with its series of DTVPal converter boxes.
Not only could multiplatform companies support the digital TV transition with their good deeds, it's a big opportunity to attract new customers. It's the ultimate door-to-door sales push.
by Michael Hopkins
Will what happened in Wilmington work for the rest of the nation?
The resources put into the single-market digital TV switch in the coastal North Carolina market earlier this month were extraordinary, to say the least. And as some said this week after the Senate Commerce Committee hearing on the digital TV transition, that localized effort would be very hard to duplicate - if not impossible - on a national scale.
The Federal Communications Commission opened an office at the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce. The Wilmington Fire Department made house calls - seriously - to help install converter boxes. The City of Wilmington received more than 300 calls from residents who had trouble getting a digital signal. Those calls were in addition to the thousands of calls received by the FCC.
It would be difficult to ask every local government entity across the nation to commit resources to ensure everyone has access to digital TV after Feb. 17, 2009. Don't expect every fire station to respond to every couch potato's worst nightmare … no television. And it's a good bet that the FCC won't open a Main Street office in every burg from Maine to California.
As regulators, lawmakers and others are figuring out, digital TV signals are local in nature. A national approach for the transition to DTV may not be the best strategy. It takes local resources to ensure that over-the-air viewers will have TV after the big switch.
Multiplatform companies could fulfill that local role.
For starters, broadcasters could do a better job in helping viewers with the pending switch. They can assist with the distribution - even the installation - of converter boxes. They should be taking a majority of technical calls. And, to be honest, broadcasters can step up their education efforts.
Cable can get into the act. While helping consumers with converter boxes may not be at the top of every MSO's to-do list, those calls could be perfect opportunities for a sales pitch, not only for video but for broadband and phone service. It's a good bet these consumers could be calling their local cable operator anyway for video service when analog signals go dark.
Satellite TV companies roll trucks in just about every neighborhood in the nation. One company - DISH Network - already has a big stake in the digital TV transition with its series of DTVPal converter boxes.
Not only could multiplatform companies support the digital TV transition with their good deeds, it's a big opportunity to attract new customers. It's the ultimate door-to-door sales push.
