Broadcasters Announce Comprehensive $697 Million Campaign to Educate Consumers about the February 17, 2009 Transition to Digital Television (DTV)
October 15, 2007
Washington, D.C. – Demonstrating their commitment to helping viewers prepare for the transition from analog to digital television (DTV), broadcasters today announced a comprehensive $697 million consumer education campaign. The multiplatform, multifaceted campaign marks the second phase of the industry's DTV consumer education initiatives, which began in late 2006.
Broadcast networks and television stations nationwide have been working closely together to coordinate initiatives for the campaign, which will include:
- "DTV Action" television spots
- Crawls, snipes and/or news tickers during programming
- 30-minute educational programs about DTV
- 100-day countdown to the February 17, 2009 DTV deadline
- Public relations elements, including earned media coverage in newspapers and online
- DTV Road Show that will visit 600 locations nationwide
- DTV Speakers Bureau that will reach one million consumers
- Online banner ads on TV station Web sites
The combined elements of the DTV campaign will reach nearly all television viewers and generate 98 billion audience impressions during the course of the campaign, which will run through February 17, 2009, when all television stations must turn off their analog signals and begin broadcasting exclusively in the digital format.
"I am proud that NAB is leading what may be the largest volunteer effort in the history of television, with literally every market and network involved," said Jack Sander, chairman of NAB's Joint Board of Directors. "This effort illustrates the continuing commitment by broadcasters to educating all television viewers about the DTV transition.
Every broadcast network is participating in the campaign, along with 95 broadcasting companies representing 944 television stations nationwide, and many other stations are expected to join the campaign. (Complete list is attached.)
With the immense amount of activity broadcasters and their network partners are undertaking to educate consumers on the digital transition, NAB engaged Starcom MediaVest Group as a strategic partner to help construct the plan and quantify the reach of these initiatives. Starcom MediaVest Group is the largest media services organization in the country, responsible for more than $16 billion in media spending annually. Using their proprietary, state of the art software program, Tardiis, Starcom MediaVest Group was able to calculate approximate impressions and valuations of the consumer education campaign.
"The broadcasting community is wholly dedicated to making sure no television viewer loses access to free, over-the-air broadcast television due to a lack of information about the switch to digital television, said David K. Rehr, president and CEO of NAB. "This next phase of our DTV consumer education campaign will take our current initiatives to the next level, and further increase the frequency of messages viewers receive about the transition to digital."
