DTV Doings

Reps John Dingell (D-MI) and Ed Markey (D-MA) continue to closely monitor the govt’s administration of the DTV coupon program. The 2 sent a list of questions to NTIA‘s Meredith Baker Tues about preparations. They want her opinions on having non-profit group members apply for coupons and then donate them to some consumers, as well as her thoughts on waiving rules limiting the number of coupons available to homes with cable or satellite service. — ION‘s nets, along with NBCU, Telemundo and the Assoc of Public TV Stations, will spearhead temporary analog shutoff tests in several major markets, including NYC, L.A., DC and Hartford, CT. A 2-min shutdown is planned for NYC on Tues from 5:59 to 6:01pm in which several broadcasters will participate, including the local ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox affils. ION said the tests come in response to a request from FCC commish Jonathan Adelstein. — Nursing home residents and P.O. box users can now apply for govt DTV converter box coupons. The program was amended to ensure that these people were eligible. — MI broadcasters host free training sessions at National Guard facilities across the state to help residents prepare for the DTV transition. Details at www.michigandtv.com. —www.michigandtv.com. CTAM Summit (Nov 9-11) is devoting a panel to the transition, with marketing and engineering professionals discussing best practices for working with broadcasters, minimizing consumer confusion and lessons learned from Wilmington, NC. The panel includes Insight svp, field ops Gregg Graff, Time Warner Cable vp/gm Kim Cannon and CBS Boston engineering manager Robert Yankowitz. — CEA launched a contest on YouTube, asking consumers to send in short videos demonstrating ways to get friends and family ready for the transition. The winner gets a state-of-art home theater (www.youtube.com/dtvtransition).www.youtube.com/dtvtransition