Best Practices

Some examples of innovative techniques stations are employing to educate viewers about the DTV transition.

1. NAB Member TV Station/State Lottery DTV Partnership

In August 2008, Baltimore's WBAL-TV, an NAB member TV station, approached the Maryland State Lottery Agency to partner on a unique initiative to help educate over-the-air viewers in Maryland who play the state lottery about the DTV transition. The Maryland State Lottery now prints DTV consumer information on its lottery tickets. Click here to view a sample of the Maryland State Lottery ticket.

NAB encourages all member TV stations that work with state lotteries to foster a similar partnership. State lotteries rely on NAB member stations to air their advertisements, results and special promotions. In turn, state lotteries have terminals and kiosks that could offer consumers broad exposure to important DTV information. This initiative is another creative way for broadcasters to educate viewers on the transition that is applicable to any state-run lottery. Many thanks to Jordan Wertlieb with WBAL-TV for making the initial connection.

If you have any questions on this DTV outreach initiative please contact Abbi Stuaan at astuann@nab.org.

Click here to watch WBAL's news report on the state lottery partnership (ASF).

2. "DTV Simplified" educational program

Best Buy, together with the Minnesota Broadcasters Association and Apex Digital Incorporated, have produced a non-branded half hour television program – DTV Simplified – designed to educate and inform consumers on the upcoming analog to digital broadcast transition. The PSA will be made available to broadcasters nationwide free of charge to be used during the government declared Digital Television Transition Awareness Month, August 2008 and through March 2009.

Click here for the DTV media alert.

3. West Virginia Station Produces DTV Roadshow Promotional Spot

WVVA-TV, the NBC affiliate in Bluefield, produced a 20-second PSA highlighting the presence of the "DTV Trekker" at the West Virginia State Fair. The spot encourages viewers who are confused about the DTV transition to visit the Roadshow to have their questions answered. The station incorporated footage of the Trekker, provided by the NAB, to promote the event.

Click here to watch the spot (WMV).

4. New York Station Highlights Benefits of Digital TV

On July 18, WABC-TV in New York participated in a congressional field hearing on DTV. In addition to their participation, the station produced a story for their newscasts which illustrated the difference between analog TV and digital. Two analog televisions with rabbit-ear antennas were set up side-by-side, one with a digital converter box and one without. This "show and tell" feature showed the crystal clear picture that viewers can expect with DTV, and the fuzzy picture received without the converter box hooked up.

5. Las Vegas Station Simulates Analog Shut-off

On May 2, 2008 KVBC-TV, the NBC affiliate in Las Vegas, simulated switching off its analog signal in a test to help viewers determine if they need to take action for the upcoming DTV transition. During each of its newscasts that day, the station briefly simulated "pulling the plug" on its analog broadcast. Viewers watching the station in analog saw a graphic of a static screen with instructions to call 888-DTV-2009 or DTVAnswers.com for more information. KVBC's anchors explained that viewers who saw the graphic on their screens would need to take action, while those who were able to continue watching the newscast after the station "pulled the plug" had nothing to worry about on February 17, 2009.

While NAB encourages stations to conduct these tests, there should be coordination with local cable, satellite and telco providers to ensure that viewers utilizing those services are unaffected.

Click here for video clip of the test.

6. President and General Manager Bill Fine of WCVB-TV/DT, HATV Boston submits an Op-Ed on the transition to digital television

TV stations around the nation are encouraged to submit editorials in their local print media on the DTV transition. The Boston Globe editorial piece below is an excellent example of this initiative. If you would like a sample op-ed to use as a framework for submitting editorials please contact Abbi Stuaan at astuann@nab.org or 202-429-5358.

Sample Op-Ed from Boston Globe.

7. Utah Broadcasters Association DTV Action Spot

The Utah Broadcasters Association produced a set of DTV action spots featuring news anchors, sportscasters and weathercasters from competing stations in the same market. The on-air talent shared the same stage in each spot, emphasizing the cooperation of all television station in the market toward a smooth DTV transition. The spots featured fast-paced editing, interesting angles and created a true sense of importance with the spots.

8. Virginia Association of Broadcasters' Road Show Tour

On January 4-13, 2008 NAB's DTV Road Show made a swing through Virginia. The Virginia Association of Broadcasters (VAB) spearheaded the week of events, in Richmond, Roanoke, Charlottesville and Chesapeake, and the news coverage generated by the events was nothing short of spectacular. At least 22 media organizations — from television stations and radio stations to daily and weekly newspapers, covered the events. State broadcaster association involvement in DTV Road Show events is the best way to maximize the potential and reach of the initiative.

9. Televised DTV Town Hall Meeting by Univision in Chicago

On Saturday, December 8, 2007, Chicago's Univision affiliate WGBO, in partnership with Telefutura affiliate WXFT, hosted a Spanish-language televised town hall meeting on the DTV transition at Little Village High School in Southwest Chicago.

After the stations promoted the event on air, it drew over 700 people and overflowed the auditorium, which held 550 people. WGBO news anchor Enrique Rodriguez moderated the meeting, which included guests from Comcast (a sponsor of the event) and two representatives from NAB. The stations also turned the event into an item for the evening news, and edited a version that ran as public affairs programming two weeks after the event.

Given the reach of the event through broadcast television – in promotion, the ensuing news item and airing of the taped program, the crucial audience (over 40 percent of primary Spanish speakers are broadcast-only) and in-depth personal contacts from a grassroots community event, the town hall was a great success by any measure. Univision is working on ways to bring this format to markets across the country.

10. DTV "roadblock" strategy in Washington, D.C. market

Commercial TV stations in the Washington, D.C. market coordinated several DTV "roadblocks" the weeks of November 11 and 18, 2007 where each station simultaneously aired 60 second DTV action spots.

The week of November 11, on Wednesday at 5 a.m., Thursday at 5 p.m., and Friday at 6 a.m., WRC (4), WTTG (5), WJLA (7), WUSA (9), WDCA (20), WDCW (50), WFDC (14) and WZDC (25), representing the major broadcast networks NBC, FOX, ABC, CBS, My Network TV, CW, Univision and Telemundo, simultaneously ran DTV action spots featuring the top talent at each station. The spots aired on a similar schedule the following week as well.

These stations did a tremendous amount of work in the last week to pull this project together, and deserve high credit as trailblazers on DTV consumer education.