Onus for DTV Hard Date Education Now Falls to CE, Other Industries

House Commerce Committee Chmn. Barton (R-Tex.) -- a key framer of the DTV bill that was passed as part of budget reconciliation late Wed. in a 216-214 vote -- hailed as a “strong consumer education measure” the $5 million allocated to the NTIA for promoting the DTV transition to the public. But a House aide said Thurs. that Congress expects industry to buttress the govt. funding with its own campaigns to boost consumer awareness of the analog cutoff. That would include promoting the bill’s $1.5 billion voucher program to distribute as many DTV converter boxes as possible to the households that will need them. Once the hard date is enacted into law, CEA will continue “its award-winning consumer education efforts to be sure all consumers are aware of the options and opportunities,” said CEA Pres. Gary Shapiro. A CEA spokesman said CE makers Thurs. already had begun reaching out to other affected industries for collaboration on a core consumer education campaign.

Judging from the predictably minuscule media coverage devoted to the analog cutoff in Thurs. reports on the passage of the deficit-reduction package, CEA and others may have their work cut out for them. In addition to the funding that would be required for a massive campaign, CE would now also seem to have the onus of drafting standardized product labeling, merchandising articles and other point-of-sale materials to warn the public about the implications of the 2009 hard date. Language circulated in House committees last spring would have set stringent package labeling and in-store signage requirements on CE set makers and retailers warning about the impending shutoff of the analog service. But such language was completely stricken from the final DTV measure. It would have required that warning language be posted at retail locations within 45 days after enactment, but there’s no such deadline contained in the package that awaits the President’s signature.

CE makers have never been fond of product labeling mandates, the CEA spokesman said. He said the group has long been willing to work with the FCC on mutually acceptable voluntary language for warning labels and other materials. CE makers will step up that effort, working both with the Commission and with CE retailers, now that congressional passage of a hard date has finally become reality, the spokesman said.

CEA and the Consumer Electronics Retailers Coalition (CERC) have told Congress they support a requirement for a standard informative label once a hard date for the end of the DTV transition has been enacted. They've urged the FCC to await the enactment of DTV legislation before proceeding with any labeling requirement. CE makers have said they would need 120-180 days to include labels on products themselves -- as opposed to packaging -- to incorporate the labeling step into the manufacturing cycle. A 90-day period would be needed if a label were designed as a sticker to be placed on the outside of product packaging, they've said.

In its last order on the DTV tuner mandate released Nov. 8, the FCC said it believes consumer awareness “of whether a television can receive off-the-air DTV signals or only off- the-air analog signals is critical to ensuring that consumer expectations are met. We also believe that it would further consumer education if manufacturers and retailers would provide point-of-sale and other marketing information to consumers and/or clearly label new television sets. We believe that such efforts would result in more informed consumer choices about whether to buy DTV tuner-equipped sets.” The Commission vowed “to address these issues expeditiously.” But in the interim, it urged set makers and retailers to clearly label and identify the tuning capabilities of new TV sets or use “other means to disseminate to consumers information regarding whether or not specific models are able to receive off-the-air digital television signals.”

As for the voucher program contained in the final DTV package, it’s stipulated that no more than $990 million worth of $40 coupons may be distributed through the mail and redeemed toward the purchase of a DTV converter box. There are provisions for raising this allocation to $1.5 billion if needed. The NTIA would be responsible for administering the program. A household may request up to 2 coupons each beginning Jan. 1, 2008, and ending March 31, 2009. Two coupons may not be used toward the purchase of a single converter box, and all coupons would expire 90 days after they're issued. There’s no means testing as to how a household would qualify for a coupon; it appears they would be available on a first-come, first-served basis. At $40 a pop, the $990 million allocated would cover nearly 25 million coupons.

Some groups are concerned the act provides too little money for education. “I think there’s now going to be an enormous burden placed on the industry to inform the public on how to make this transition work,” said Gene Kimmelman, senior dir.-public policy at Consumers Union. “If they fail to step up to the plate, I won’t be surprised if Congress comes back and delays the date.” If business doesn’t do a good job, Kimmelman said, “we're going to facing potentially a huge backlash as we approach the deadline.” He said Congress didn’t appropriate nearly enough money for analog sets to be fully functional in 2009. “The real question is how many people will have made the transition to digital by then. Will prices on digital TVs have come down?” Kimmelman said it’s up to the consumer electronics, broadcasting and cable industries to make the 2009 date stick.

“The DTV legislation is truly a win-win initiative. Not only will it free up needed spectrum for our nation’s first responders, but it will also allow our innovative industry to roll out advanced wireless data services to all Americans,” CTIA Pres. Steve Largent said: “This is a significant public policy victory, as there is little doubt it will make our nation more secure and technologically advanced.”