No Consumer Left Behind

Members of private corporations, trade associations, and civil rights and community groups met in Washington, D.C., yesterday to form the DTV Transition Coalition, a group that plans to increase consumer awareness of the country’s switch to digital television from analog on Feb. 17, 2009.

About 20 million households that rely on over-the-air TV signals will be affected by the transition, according to the coalition. In a recent survey by the National Association of Broadcasters, 56 percent of the respondents said they have “seen, read or heard” nothing about the transition. As part of its privately-funded marketing campaign to increase awareness, the coalition will launch www.DTVtransition.org The site will provide basic information about the transition and will offer links to additional industry resources.

The coalition’s founding members include Association for Maximum Service Television (MSTV), Association of Public Television Stations (APTS), Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), Consumer Electronics Retailers Coalition (CERC), Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR), LG Electronics, National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) and National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA).