About the DTV transition delay

Thu, February 5, 2009
Posted in Digital Technology, Web Updates

converterbox You may have heard this week that Congress passed a bill pushing the mandatory shutdown of analog TV broadcasting from February 17 back to June 12, 2009. Full-power TV broadcasters across the country — like KAKM here in Anchorage — must now turn off their analog TV transmitters no later than June 12. However, many broadcasters may still shutdown their analog service on February 17, as has been planned since 2005. Others may choose to shutdown analog TV sometime between February 17 and June 12.

As of this writing, the bill is awaiting a signature from the President to become law (Obama has said he will sign the bill). Then the FCC must issue new rules around the law, instructing TV broadcasters on what to do. Most broadcasters will additionally wait for advice from our media lawyers to ensure our actions are in compliance with FCC rules and the new law. All those steps are likely to be completed this week or by early next week.

What happens next?

For now, KAKM is continuing to air all required announcements about the February 17, 2009 analog TV shutdown date. We are working to replace these notices with new ones that reference the June 12, 2009 date instead. By law, we will continue to air no less than 180 seconds of DTV transition education every single day until the analog shutdown is completed. We hope to have the on-air spots replaced by early next week.

NOTE: Other stations in the Anchorage market may shutdown their analog services on February 17, despite the deadline extension. You may want to check with each station to confirm whether they are changing on Feb 17.

For the record, KAKM Channel 7 already broadcasts a full-power Digital TV signal, so if you have a converter box or a DTV tuner in your television — along with an antenna appropriate to your location — you can immediately tune in KAKM’s DTV signal from our transmitter about 11 miles north of downtown Anchorage.

KAKM currently expects to continue broadcasting our analog TV signal up to the June 12 deadline. That may change, based on conversations with other stations in the Anchorage market and with our viewers. Whatever the final date, however, we hope you’re immediately taking steps to prepare for the analog shutdown, if you’re not already prepared.

More news and updates as we have them.