[opendtv] Small TV stations struggle with digital conversion

May 25, 2008


Small TV stations struggle with digital conversion

By Ana Radelat
aradelat@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 

For the average viewer, the transition to digital television will result in 
clearer pictures and better sound. But for Chad Giddens and other owners and 
managers of small, low-powered television stations, the conversion could force 
them to fade to black for many viewers. 

Giddens, general manager of Shreveport's KADO-LP, which airs on channel 40, 
said the future of the station that broadcasts religious and family programs is 
unclear. 

The small station's vulnerability was underscored when a bolt of lightning 
knocked it off the air last week. 

Giddens hoped to repair the damage and be back on the air soon but doesn't know 
what the station will do when most of the industry goes completely digital by 
the congressional deadline of Feb. 17. 

One obstacle is the high cost of technology. 

"Trying to come up with $150,000 or $250,000 to convert the station is a big 
feat for us," Giddens said. 

Low-power stations like KADO-LP are exempt from the requirement to adapt 
digital technology. 

But many of KADO-LP's viewers are buying converter boxes so they will be able 
to view other television stations when they go digital. These viewers have 
older televisions that aren't equipped to receive digital broadcasts and don't' 
subscribe to cable or satellite services that would allow their old television 
sets to receive digital programming. 

But most of the converter boxes will block the analog broadcasts used by 
KADO-LP and nearly 7,000 other low-power stations. 

"One day our viewers will see us and the next day they won't," Giddens said. 
Greg Herman, the Community Broadcasters Association's vice president in charge 
of technology, is furious at what he calls Congress' "ineptitude" at handling 
the conversion of the U.S. television industry from analog to digital, a move 
aimed at freeing up a large segment of the airwaves for wireless services and 
public safety communications. 

"We serve the underserved, but Congress has done nothing but harm to us," 
Herman said. 

Most low-powered stations air religious and Spanish-language programs or are 
linked to universities and colleges. There are also thousands of low-powered 
translator stations that retransmit the programming of other stations to rural 
areas. 

Herman wants the federal government to stop giving the public $40 coupons to 
purchase converter boxes that block these stations' analog signals. The 
Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information 
Administration already has given out about 1 million coupons. 

The Senate this week approved legislation that would provide $65 million to 
reimburse low-powered stations for the costs of converting to digital. The 
reimbursements would begin after the Feb. 17 conversion deadline. 

But Herman said very few low-powered stations are planning to go digital and 
Congress' help would come too late. 

"It's putting a small bandage on a huge wound," he said. 

Ralph Davis, station manager of KNTS-LP, a low-power station in Natchitoches 
that transmits on channel 17, said he's considering converting to digital. The 
station broadcasts local church services and sporting events. 

Davis is the station's only full-time employee and he's found it difficult to 
actively solicit sponsors to help pay for the conversion. 

"It's a juggling act," Davis said. "We have a few pieces of (conversion) 
equipment, but we're nowhere near where we should be." 

Some large, network-affiliated stations also may be facing challenges. 

A Government Accountability Office report released last week said about 91 
percent of the television stations surveyed said they are already airing 
digital signals and most of them are transmitting that signal at full strength. 
But other stations reported they still had a lot of work to do. 

James Smith, general manager of KSLA, a CBS affiliate in Shreveport that 
reaches more than 900,000 viewers, said his station is among those already 
transmitting digital signals at full strength. 

He's hoping for a smooth conversion, but he's concerned about some of his 
viewers who don't have late-model televisions and can't afford - or secure - 
cable or satellite service. He said the viewers who are most likely to have 
their television screens go black are the poor, the elderly and rural 
residents. 

Smiths' station has launched information campaigns to reach those viewers and 
he's spoken about digital conversion to organizations that represent the 
elderly. 

George Sirven, general manager of ABC-affiliate KTBS in Shreveport, estimates 9 
percent to 11 percent of his viewers may find it hard to find the station after 
the conversion takes place. 

He said the station has spent millions going digital and has mixed feelings 
about it. 
"In a way, we would have preferred not to have to go through this because of 
the expense," Sirven said. "But in a way, we're happy to do so because it will 
make our station 100 percent better."


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