Can the Public Gain from the DTV Transition

The change marks a seminal shift in TV technology. Viewers should be able to receive clearer pictures, and local stations will be able to operate up to three more channels, giving them an opportunity to air a lot more programming. Our hope is that some of it will provide a public service.

August is Digital Television Awareness Month. That might not generate as much excitement as the month’s other big events — the Olympics and the Democratic National Convention. But for most Minnesotans, those two events will unfold on TV, as will the Republican National Convention in September. So it’s an ideal time to remind Americans that on Feb. 17, 2009, TV broadcast signals will switch from analog to digital.

Awareness of the switch to digital is especially important in Minnesota. Despite a climate that could excuse many for being heavily cabled couch potatoes, they actually rank third in the country in the percentage of households that only receive over-the-air analog signals. This has not gone unnoticed by Carlos Gutierrez, the U.S. commerce secretary, whose department is responsible for implementation. His recent Twin Cities tour took him to a Best Buy store, where he talked about the government’s converter box coupon program. The converter box will allow analog TV owners to watch broadcast TV after the conversion. Gutierrez also visited the Star Tribune’s Editorial Board to discuss the reasons for the switch, with safety and commerce his top priorities. “The 9/11 Commission recommended we do this for emergency responders’ interoperability,” he said, as freeing up spectrum space will allow police and fire departments to better communicate. It also “frees up a lot of spectrum for companies to innovate and come out with new wireless devices, which is a boost to the economy and innovation.”

This freed-up spectrum won’t be free for long. It will be auctioned off, and Gutierrez expects new revenue of $15 billion to $20 billion, which would more than offset the government’s $1.5 to $2 billion implementation cost.

This is a rare instance of taxpayers getting some of the revenue that stations make from the public’s airwaves. Using these airwaves requires a license renewal, which depends on a station meeting the FCC standard of “public interest, convenience and necessity.”

The FCC erred in not requiring these standards to apply to each of the new digital channels, opting instead to maintain the requirements only on the existing affiliate.

But that doesn’t mean that local stations can’t do it on their own. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experiment with TV programming that serves the local community in new ways. And it’s not only a matter of the public good: Ratings and revenue will follow the stations that crack the code.

Much is being asked of many Minnesotans, in convenience and cash, to convert to digital TV. It’s not too much to ask that the stations make it all worth it.

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