NEWS Federal Communications Commission 445 12th Street, S.W. Washington, D. C. 20554 This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action. Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official action. See MCI v. FCC. 515 F 2d 385 (D.C. Circ 1974). News Media Information 202 / 418-0500 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov TTY: 1-888-835-5322 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: NEWS MEDIA CONTACT: August 18, 2008 Clyde Ensslin, 202-418-0506 clyde.ensslin@fcc.gov FCC ANNOUNCES EXTENSIVE NATIONWIDE INITIATIVE FOR DTV OUTREACH Agency to Focus on Markets with High Levels of Over-the-Air Television Viewers Washington, DC – FCC Chairman Kevin Martin today announced a nationwide initiative to increase awareness about the upcoming transition to digital television. The FCC identified target television markets for specific DTV outreach, including all those markets in which more than 100,000 households or at least 15% of the households rely solely on over-the-air signals for television. Chairman Martin announced that the five FCC Commissioners and other Commission staff will fan out to these and other markets to raise awareness and educate consumers in the days leading up to the digital television transition on February 17, 2009. At each stop, there will be a public event, such as a town hall meeting, workshop, or roundtable with an FCC Commissioner to highlight the digital transition, and be available to local press. In coordination with these visits, the FCC will work with local broadcasters and radio stations to increase the broadcasts of Radio and TV DTV PSAs. All combined, this outreach is designed to educate consumers in these DMAs and especially those groups that are most vulnerable in the transition: Seniors, People Living Tribal and Rural Areas, People with Disabilities, Individuals with Low-Incomes, Minorities and Non-English Speakers. Chairman Martin was joined by representatives from the National Association of Broadcasters, Consumer Electronics Retailer Coalition, Consumer Electronics Association, and the National Cable Telecommunications Association for the announcement at the Newseum in Washington, DC, one of the television markets identified. The NAB and members of the DTV Coalition will be assisting the Commission throughout this nationwide tour. “As part of our efforts to prepare consumers for the transition, we have identified television markets in which the largest number of viewers will have to take action to be prepared for the transition six months from now,” Martin said. “This unprecedented nationwide tour by the entire Commission is part of our commitment to prepare and educate consumers about the digital television transition.” Recognizing the challenges many viewers in these communities may face, Commissioners unanimously agreed to travel coast-to-coast to hold public events, meet with community leaders, 2 broadcasters, and other stakeholders to highlight steps consumers need to take to be prepared for the transition. In the coming weeks, an FCC Commissioner will be in the following cities: Anchorage, Alaska 8/27/2008 Fairbanks, Alaska 8/28/2008 Baltimore, Maryland 9/8/2008 San Francisco, California 9/11/2008 Austin, Texas 9/18/2008 Houston, Texas 9/17/2008 Memphis, Tennessee 9/19/2008 New York, New York 9/27/2008 Boise, Idaho 9/29/2008 Atlanta, Georgia 9/29/2008 Missoula, Montana 9/30/2008 Helena, Montana 10/1/2008 Bozeman, Montana 10/2/2008 Billings, Montana 10/3/2008 Nashville, Tennessee 10/7/2008 Charlotte, North Carolina 10/16/2008 Denver, Colorado 10/16/2008 Seattle, Washington 10/20/2008 Spokane, Washington 10/21/2008 Yakima, Washington 10/22/2008 Portland, Oregon 10/23/2008 Chicago, Illinois 11/20/2008 Phoenix, Arizona 12/29/2008 The Commission will release periodic updates on markets that the Commission will visit as future trips are finalized. In the days prior to each visit, FCC staffers will be on the ground providing technical and outreach assistance to local broadcasters, community leaders, and other stakeholders, to prepare for the transition to digital. The FCC will also be coordinating with NAB to explore whether these DMAs may participate in a temporary turn off of their analog signals (“soft tests”) to determine consumer readiness of the DTV transition. The following is a list of areas the FCC will visit prior to February 17, 2009. More information will follow regarding upcoming dates for the remaining cities. Albuquerque-Santa Fe, New Mexico Anchorage, Alaska Atlanta, Georgia Austin, Texas Baltimore, Maryland Bangor, Maine Billings, Montana 3 Boise, Idaho Boston, Massachusetts Bozeman, Montana Charleston, South Carolina Charleston, West Virginia Charlotte, North Carolina Chattanooga, Tennessee Chicago, Illinois Chico-Redding, California Cincinnati, Ohio Cleveland-Akron (Canton), Ohio Colorado Springs,-Pueblo, Colorado Columbus, Ohio Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas Dayton, Ohio Denver, Colorado Des Moines-Ames, Iowa Detroit, Michigan Duluth-Superior, Minnesota El Paso, Texas (Las Cruces, NM) Erie, Pennsylvania Fairbanks, Alaska Fort Wayne, Indiana Fresno-Visalia, California Grand Rapids-Kalamazoo-Battle Creek, Michigan Green Bay-Appleton, Wisconsin Greenville-Spartanburg, South Carolina Harlingen-Weslaco-Brownsville-McAllen, Texas Helena, Montana Honolulu, Hawaii Houston, Texas Idaho Falls-Pocatello, Idaho Indianapolis, Indiana Joplin, Missouri-Pittsburg, Kansas Kansas City, Missouri Knoxville, Tennessee La Crosse-Eau Claire, Wisconsin Lansing, Michigan Laredo, Texas Los Angeles, California Lubbock, Texas Madison, Wisconsin Memphis, Tennessee Miami-Fort Lauderdale, Florida Milwaukee, Wisconsin Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota Missoula, Montana Nashville, Tennessee 4 New York, New York Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Phoenix, Arizona Portland, Oregon Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina Richmond-Petersburg, Virginia Rochester, New York Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto, California Saint Louis, Missouri Salt Lake City, Utah San Antonio, Texas San Diego, California San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, California Seattle-Tacoma, Washington South Bend-Elkhart, Indiana Spokane, Washington Springfield, Missouri Tampa-St. Petersburg, Florida Toledo, Ohio Tucson, Arizona Tulsa, Oklahoma Twin Falls, Idaho Washington, DC Wausau-Rhinelander, Wisconsin Yakima-Pasco-Richland-Kennewick, Washington Yuma, Arizona-El Centro, California -FCC- News about the Federal Communications Commission can also be found on the Commission’s web site www.fcc.gov.