Digital TV Coalition Urges Members to Resolve Issues of Multicast Must Carry, Compensation, and Consumer Education

Digital TV Coalition Urges Members to Resolve Issues of Multicast Must Carry, Compensation, and Consumer Education

WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, in a staff and press briefing on Capitol Hill, the Coalition for a Smart Digital TV Transition (representing a far-reaching alliance of labor, rural, religious and minority groups aligned in their desire to bring about a fair and rational DTV transition) called on Congress to carefully consider the ramifications of three unresolved issues as work on pending DTV bills continues. These issues include: compensation for set-top boxes, authorization for multicast must carry, and funding for consumer education and outreach. The Coalition also rebutted the cable industry's attack on the constitutionality of multicast must carry.

"Unless steps are taken to provide compensation for the purchase of the set-top converter boxes required to convert a digital signal back to an analog signal, plain old television sets will not work. Consumers who do not subscribe to cable, or cannot afford a digital receiver or a set-top converter box, will have a special New Year's present on December 31, 2008 - snow on their television," said Linda Golodner, President, National Consumers League.

Multicast must carry enables free, over-the-air local television stations to deliver local news and weather, foreign language and other quality programming to viewers across the country. But over-the-air news, weather and other multicast channels will not be sustained without must carry. "Inclusion of multicast must carry language in final bills will prevent cable from stripping out valuable multicast programming and will ensure that elderly, rural and minority residents will not be deprived of access to vital information," said Larry Mitchell, spokesperson, the Alliance for Rural Television.

When the final transition to digital television is complete, nearly 73 million television sets will become obsolete overnight, unless steps are taken to provide compensation for the purchase of the set-top converter boxes required to convert a digital signal back to an analog signal that traditional television sets can receive. "Rural residents, minorities and elderly Americans will be disenfranchised and disproportionately affected if these issues are not addressed," said Manuel Mirabal, Chair of the Hispanic Technology & Telecommunications Partnership.

The Coalition members were pleased to see comments by United States Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) in press reports today, indicating that he hopes to move bills addressing these and other critical DTV transition issues by the end of this month. The Coalition looks forward to working with Senator Stevens and other Members in the days ahead to ensure that any final DTV plan addresses each of these outstanding issues in a fair, thoughtful and complete fashion, and that the rights of all Americans are protected.

Coalition Members Represented at the Briefing today include:

* National Consumers League * Hispanic Technology & Telecommunications Partnership * International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers * 1890's Council of Presidents * Religious Voices in Broadcasting * The Alliance for Rural Television, including the American Corn Growers Association, the National Farmers Organization, the National Farmers Union, the National Grange, the Soybean Producers of America, Women Involved in Farm Economics, Federation of Southern Cooperatives, American Agriculture Movement, and the National Association of Farmer Elected Committees. * CBS Television Network Affiliates Association * NBC Television Affiliates

More information on the Coalition can be found at: http://www.smartdigitaltvtransition.com/.

Source: Coalition for a Smart Digital TV Transition

CONTACT: Didi Blackwood, +1-202-530-4516, for the Coalition for a Smart Digital TV Transition

Web site: http://www.smartdigitaltvtransition.com/

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