KCTS 9

Why didn't KCTS 9 transition to DTV in February?

First of all, KCTS 9 and most TV stations in major cities have been broadcasting digital TV since 1999, so the DTV transition isn’t so much a transition for TV stations but for viewers since the TV stations have been operating both analog and digital for a while now.

The DTV Delay bill allowed stations to continue operating analog until June 12, 2009 or request to end analog operation on February 17, 2009 and KCTS 9 chose to delay.

Why?

Because we believe we can best serve our viewers by continuing analog operation for both KCTS 9 and KYVE 47 as long as permitted by the FCC. That is, by delaying the transition, we are able to help more viewers make the transition -- even though we are incurring a cost in leaving our analog transmitters on for an additional four months.

There is a multitude of reasons why some stations chose not to delay the transition and why others did and I think it's worthwhile to look at these scenarios.

Serious talk of a delay to analog termination began in early January when the NTIA suspended mailing DTV converter box coupons. The NTIA had two batches of money available to issue $40 coupons to consumers for the purchase of DTV converter boxes. Due to budget rules, the NTIA stopped issuing coupons when they had issued coupons totaling the amount of money appropriated for the program. With a redemption rate of 52% at that time, the NTIA would be able to start issuing coupons again when some of the coupons expired. The coupons expire 90 days from when they are mailed to consumers.

Nielsen reported in January that 6.5 million households in America were not ready for the DTV transition. The suspension of coupons being issued coupled with the Nielsen research were the main reasons for the DTV Delay bill.

All full power stations in the U.S. had planned to terminate analog broadcasts on Feb. 17 and many had plans that were too far along to turn back. Some stations had located their DTV transmitters in other facilities and had leases set to end based on the analog shutoff date. Other stations had scheduled tower crews to remove their analog antenna and replace it with a top mounted DTV antenna.

Another consideration for stations was the impact on their electricity usage supporting two transmitters after Feb. 17. Stations had been operating two transmitters for as long as 10 years and had planned on only operating one transmitter after Feb. 17. Shutting off the analog transmitter could reduce electricity usage by 50% or even more depending on their channel assignments.

You may remember from my blog last week that UHF transmitters require more power than VHF transmitters. If a station was operating DTV on a UHF channel and planned to move their DTV to their VHF channel, like KCTS 9 did, then their electricity usage could decrease by as much as 75%. For statewide PBS systems like Oregon OPB or South Carolina ETV, stations that could have 10 or more transmitters, those costs can really add up.

Some station groups in the PBS system reported costs of up to $250,000 to continue analog operation until June 12, 2009.

The FCC accepted filings from all PBS stations to terminate analog operation on Feb. 17, if they desired. For commercial stations, the FCC determined specific markets most at risk and required these markets to provide additional resources to their communities if they wanted to terminate analog in February.

On Feb. 17, 421 stations terminated analog operation, 220 station had terminated analog operation before Feb.17. The number of stations that had terminated as of Feb. 17 was 641 out of nearly 1,800 full power stations (36%). Stations not terminating on or before Feb. 17 may terminate analog prior to June 12, but after March 17 after notifying the FCC.

At KCTS 9 in Seattle and KYVE 47 in Yakima, the only additional costs we would incur for extending analog operation would be electricity usage and we figured it was around $15,000 for both stations. Again, our station believed that it would best serve our viewers by delaying the transition and allowing more time for our staff to help our viewers transition to DTV. KCTS 9 and KYVE 47 are both ready for the termination of analog operation and continue to work with viewers so they can receive our DTV channels. Here's a note for our viewers: There is no reason to wait if you are still watching analog TV.

The recent stimulus bill allocated $650 million dollars to the NTIA DTV converter box program. The NTIA is starting to send out backlogged coupons and will send coupons for new requests until the funds are depleted. The coupons are also being mailed first class, instead of third class.

If you don’t have a coupon and need a DTV converter box, you should apply now at DTV2009.

If you have a DTV converter box, you should connect it now and start receiving KCTS 9 DTV which includes two additional channels, V-me (Spanish language) and Create on 9.2 and 9.3 respectively.

My blog two weeks ago titled DTV Transition For Dummies includes info on tuning sub-channels with converter boxes and Digital TVs. Again, there is no reason to wait until June 12 to connect and use your DTV converter box. All stations in Seattle are broadcasting DTV now.

Read our Digital Transition FAQ

Contact Us for help.

Jabran Soubeih is the Executive Director of Engineering and Technical Planning at KCTS 9. Jabran's weekly blog covers all things digital TV. Post a comment or concern about your TV signal or the digital transition and Jabran will answer it in this space.