The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

Transition in Trouble

• Table of Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Executive Summary
• Introduction
• Many Will Suffer Significant Harm if the DTV Transition Fails
• The Leadership Conference has Identified Numerous Issues that Threaten a Successful DTV Transition
  • Transition Planning Lacks Leadership and a Comprehensive Plan
  • Transition Awareness is Low; Consumers and Retailers are Confused; Outreach Efforts are Inadequate
  • Coupon Program is Confusing, Burdensome, and Restrictive
  • Costs and Burdens to Many Communities and Viewers are Excessive or Overwhelming
  • Many Communities Will Lose, not Gain, Television Stations and Service
  • No Rapid Response is in Place to Deal with Inevitable Transition Problems
• Recommendations
  • Improve Organization of the Transition
  • Fund Increased Consumer Outreach, Education and Research
  • Reduce Costs and Burdens of Transition on Viewers
  • Preserve Communities' Access to Their Television Stations
  • Prepare for Rapid Response to Problems
• Conclusion

Executive Summary

On February 17, 2009, the nation's full-power television stations will turn off their analog signals and exclusively broadcast digitally. In addition to sharper images and superior sound, digital television offers the potential of many important benefits over analog television, including better service to those with hearing or visual disabilities, translations in languages other than English, more local programming, and more efficient use of the public airwaves.

However, a May 2008 Nielsen Media Research report estimated that over 23 million households will wake up on that day either completely or partially unready to receive digital broadcast television service, unless they take action soon. And on June 10th of this year the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that "nearly half of the households that could lose television service after the transition to digital broadcasting are still unprepared for the switch."

Despite months of education and outreach efforts by government, industry, nonprofit community organizations such as the members of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, and numerous other groups, many American households remain either completely unaware or only partially aware of the impending digital television transition. Those who are aware of the transition are often confused about whether they will be impacted, and what actions, if any, they should take.

Broadcast television is the primary news source for most Americans. Especially reliant on free over-the-air television are low-income Americans, seniors, persons with disabilities, non-English speakers, and minorities - many of the communities served by members of the Leadership Conference. These communities also own a disproportionate number of older analog television sets that require a converter box to receive digital broadcasts.

For many members of these communities, free over-the-air broadcast television is a lifeline. It keeps them informed and engaged in their communities and warns them about potential life-threatening situations. Many Americans owe their lives to emergency weather or public safety warnings broadcast to their television sets.

It is critical that on February 17, 2009, America leaves none of its communities and viewers behind as it transitions to digital television.

The Leadership Conference applauds the work done so far by the federal government, the broadcasting industry, retailers, community organizations, nonprofits, and others to educate and prepare the American public for the impending digital television transition. However, the evidence gathered in this report demonstrates that unless much more work is done, the digital transition will likely leave many of our nation's viewers in the dark.

Serious problems with the transition identified by the Leadership Conference include:

• Absence of clear federal leadership and a comprehensive transition plan;
• Lack of viewer awareness;
• Viewer and retailer confusion;
• TV converter box coupon program problems and complexities;
• Excessive and unanticipated costs and burdens to viewers to make the transition;
• Loss of community television stations;
• Difficulties in procuring and attaching converter boxes;
• Reports of unnecessary retailer upselling;
• Difficulties for seniors and people with disabilities in accessing captioning and any available video description on digital converter, cable, or satellite boxes, and finding converter boxes that support video description; and
• No rapid response capability to deal with problems on and after February 17, 2009.

The Leadership Conference has several recommendations that, if adopted, will significantly increase the number of viewers who will be prepared for the digital transition. They include:

Improve the organization of the transition. The federal government should engage in the same kind of comprehensive planning for the nation's digital television transition that it did for the nation's Y2K computer transition, as recommended by the GAO in its November 2007 report on the DTV transition.

Provide increased consumer outreach, education and research. The cost of a Senate campaign in Ohio in 2006 was nearly $9 million. But for the nationwide campaign to educate consumers about the DTV transition, Congress has so far allocated only $5 million. To increase consumer awareness and reduce confusion, the federal government must appropriate additional funding to provide public education and outreach to alert and assist populations at risk of losing over-the-air television service. The government should also encourage broadcasters to conduct analog shut-off tests such as that recently completed in Orlando and upcoming in Wilmington, NC, in more, if not all markets, prior to February 17, 2009.

Reduce costs and burdens of transition on viewers. The federal government should:

• Provide funding for home visits to deliver and install converters and antennas for those who need assistance;
• Make more DTV converter box coupons available overall and make more available per household;
• Eliminate the expiration date for coupons, or at the very least extend the expiration date to March 2009;
• Eliminate the burdensome certification requirement of the second stage of the coupon program;
• Mail DTV converter box coupons in envelopes that are easily identifiable by those with visual challenges;
• Provide more opportunities for mail order or Internet redemption of coupons for converter boxes;
• Make more converter boxes that pass through an analog signal eligible for coupons and available in stores so that viewers will not lose access to their analog community (low-power) broadcast television stations;
• Work with cable companies to reduce the costs and burdens on cable customers from the digital transition;
• Work with retailers to provide accurate information to consumers about the transition and prevent unnecessary upselling;
• Certify and publicize which DTV converter boxes eligible for coupon redemption incorporate video description and make them readily available; and
• Require TV and converter box manufacturers to include automatic software updating capability to remedy software flaws that impact closed-captioning, video description, and other functionality.

Preserve communities' access to their television stations. The federal government must address the problem of preserving access to analog low-power community broadcast stations and rural translator stations with education, outreach, and a greatly increased supply of coupon-eligible converter boxes that enable a single analog television to receive both digital and analog broadcasts. The problem of consumers trying to access both digital and analog broadcasting along the U.S. - Mexico border must also be addressed.

Prepare for rapid response to problems. The federal government should fund and organize Rapid Response Teams ready to act starting January 1, 2009 to assist the most vulnerable populations who may end up losing television service after February 17, 2009. Congressional offices should have staff trained and ready to answer constituents' urgent, confused, and potentially angry questions about the transition and how to restore their lost television service. The NTIA and FCC DTV consumer assistance telephone lines should be fully staffed and include customer service representatives trained in languages other than English, or in assisting people with disabilities, to help those who are confused about the transition or the coupon program. Community-based organizations should be empowered and funded to mobilize teams that will assist their members who are unsuccessful in making the transition.

Small steps can make a big difference. There are also many small steps the federal government can take to educate the public about the DTV transition that will make a big difference next February. For example, the President should film a public service announcement on the upcoming DTV transition and convene a "summit conference" on the state of the DTV transition. Every government agency should have links on their websites to www.dtv2009.gov and place informational bill stuffers in all their mailings. The Postal Service should place DTV transition posters in all post offices and issue a DTV transition postage stamp. Congressional offices should add links and banners to their websites, use their franking privileges and outreach services to educate their constituents about the transition, and train staffers to assist constituents with procuring coupons and solve other problems associated with the transition.

Bold and decisive action such as that recommended by the Leadership Conference must be taken quickly, or potentially millions of viewers in our nation's most vulnerable communities will be at risk of losing their lifelines to those communities - free over-the-air television service. The stakes are too great for our nation to allow the digital television transition to become the Digital Television Divide.

It is the responsibility of Congress to ensure that communities and consumers are not unfairly and excessively burdened by the nation's transition to digital television. This is not the time for members of Congress to be "penny-wise and pound-foolish," for they will ultimately suffer the wrath of consumers and voters if the digital transition is a failure. Adopting these common sense recommendations will help considerably in the challenge of ensuring that on February 17, 2009, America leaves none of its communities and viewers behind.

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