The Great DTV Switch-Off

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – On February 17th, 2009, America will experience the biggest change to television since color. Stations nationwide will turn off their analog transmitters and broadcast their signals digitally.

The angst has been well documented. Many stations have spent millions to comply with the government’s Feb. 17 mandate. Viewers have shelled out cash, too. People who use antennas to receive their signal are being forced to purchase converter boxes.

The government offered $40 coupons to help offset the $60 retail cost, but many coupons expired within days of people receiving them. And then you have the service providers. Cable and satellite companies are still pouring a small fortune into the switch.

So why all the grief for a switch that could still turn ugly come February?

The advantages of digital are many. Stations such as WJHL-TV News Channel 11 can operate on multiple channels, offering 24-hour weather service or network affiliations that otherwise didn’t exist before.

The Federal Communications Commission, which governs all television stations, is auctioning the existing analog airwaves to emergency service providers and telecommunications companies. The analog spectrum currently broadcast to television viewers is considered high quality, and has been coveted for years.

But make no mistake: The switch comes at a bad time for broadcasters. Virtually every large and small media company is struggling with the down economy. And even before the economy turned sour, stations were diverting considerable dollars to build the digital transmitter.

“The capital expense as been enormous and has caused us to divert money from areas that would improve our quality to actually rebuilding our infrastructure,” said WJHL General Manager Jack Dempsey.

He is one of the first broadcast executives in the nation to begin educating consumers on the switch and says he saw the storm brewing.

“I wanted to make certain that as a station, we got out in front of the issue early. While we can inform people via commercial messages, I wanted to be certain to inform them one on one, too.” 

Feb. 19 was also to occur in the middle of “sweeps,” a period in which Nielsen Media Research measures audience viewing habits in order to set the cost of commercials. Nielsen buckled to pressure from media companies this summer and moved the traditional February ratings period to March. Even then, the results could be skewed. The digital signal may not reach areas of this region that have always been reached by analog signals.

Several News Channel 11 viewers have installed the converter boxes and can no longer receive our signal in Southwest Virginia. To help viewers, WJHL is running a big experiment during its noon newscast on Monday November 10th (100 days from February 17th). For one minute, WJHL will turn off the analog transmitter.

Viewers who are already set up to receive the digital signal won’t notice a thing. Viewers who aren’t ready or viewers who use a service provider that still relies on WJHL’s analog signal will see snow.

For WJHL, the experiment really is as easy as a click of the mouse. But it means the engineering staff has to climb to the station’s transmitter on top of Holston Mountain. According to Chief Engineer Mike Moore, “The transmitters are in the same building and on the same tower, and yes it’s crowded.”

The one minute switch-off is sure to generate plenty of concerns and questions from viewers. That’s why WJHL is assembling a panel of experts from local service providers and electronics stores to answer your questions. The phones will be ringing between 5-7 p.m. If you have questions, call the station during that time frame at 888-903-9545.

By the way, DirecTV is one provider who won’t be switching off of WJHL’s analog signal until December 8th.