CEA Washington Forum Focuses on DTV Transition

While much of the industry was in Nevada for the NAB Show last week, the Consumer Electronics Show held its annual Washington Forum event.

The DTV transition returned for the umpteenth time as one of the main agenda items and included a panel cheekily subtitled "The Final Countdown (And This Time We Mean It)."

The panel was moderated by Washington Post technology blogger Rob Pegoraro and featured representatives from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the Federal Communications Commission and CEA.

The panelists discussed the ways their organizations are working to educate those consumers who rely on over-the-air for their television signals about the DTV transition.

Some 97 percent of U.S. households are aware of the transition and what they need to do to receive DTV signals after the shutoff of full-power analog broadcasting on June 12. None of the panelists expects that deadline to shift.

Mary Lou Kenny, DTV converter-box program partnership manager for the NTIA, said that the remaining households are among the hardest to reach.

Bill Lake, the DTV transition coordinator for the FCC, said that audience share has increased for 90 percent of stations that have made the transaction, but about 2 percent have seen a loss in viewership.

NTIA is preparing for a spike in DTV transition-related activity in the two weeks prior to June 12, lasting until two weeks after the analog shutoff.

Also during the forum, the association recognized Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and Gregory Meeks (D-NY) as "Digital Patriots." The award is made by CEA each year to honor support in advancing technology innovation.

Also, the Academy of Digital Television Pioneers gained three new members: Jonathan Collegio of the National Association of Broadcasters; Jason Oxman, CEA; and Dave Graveline, host of the radio program "Into Tomorrow."