Are you aware of the 2009 deadline for transitioning everyone over to digital television? Of course you are. Which means you can now feel superior to more than 60% of Americans according to a study cited by John Lawson, President and CEO of the Association of Public Television Stations (APTS).
The Digital TV panel at the CEA Washington Forum brought together some unlikely fellows working toward a common goal of getting consumers educated about the DTV transition. While the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) and the National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA) are on opposite sides of the fence on some issues (like, say, CableCARD), their CEOs, Gary Shapiro and Kyle McSlarrow, certainly agreed that DTV requires significant cooperation over the next couple of years. Shapiro went so far as to compare the transition to the move from horse and buggy to automobile. (Yeah, not sure I agree with that, but maybe true in the long term.)
Lawson meanwhile emphasized the benefits coming out of DTV, including specifically the availability of new content. Apparently public television is doing a lot more with multicasting than I knew, including adding three new 24/7 channels – a Spanish channel, a “How-To” channel and a public affairs channel.
The last panelist, Marcellus W. Alexander, EVP of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), disclosed some welcome information about how the industry is spreading the word about the transition. Since we’re talking OTA TV users, there has to be a non-technical approach to reaching the currently-uninformed. Alexander referenced a coalition with the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR), an umbrella organization covering everything from the AARP to church groups. The goal of the coalition is to reach out to people where they work, live and play.
A great panel overall, and certainly my favorite of the three I attended. One final relevant stat: The number of analog TV displays sold in 2006 is estimated at just below 11 million. The number projected to be sold in 2007 is under 2.5 million. A drop of more than 75%.