NAB Aims To Explain TV Repack Process To America

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How can a broadcast television C-Suite executive best explain the post-Spectrum Auction TV repack process to Telly Watcher?


They can direct them to a brand-new website created by the NAB to best inform Americans on how they can continue to receive their local broadcast TV stations during the incentive auction repack process.


RBR+TVBR OBSERVATION (Full text below, for subscribers only): How long will this repack process take? Long enough to bring the Southeast and much of the Mid-Atlantic Region into the 2018 and 2019 hurricane seasons. That’s alarming.


The microsite is TVAnswers.org, and it is designed to educate everyday viewers and keep them apprised of channel changes during the repack’s 39-month timeline. Information on the microsite appears in both English and Spanish.

To accommodate wireless services companies that acquired broadcast TV spectrum in the FCC’s recently completed incentive auction, some 1,000 television stations will need to shift to new channel assignments over the next three years.

Broadcasters will change channels at different times during 10 different phases, with the final phase estimated for completion on July 3, 2020.

NAB says TVAnswers.org offers educational sections explaining to viewers why the transition is occurring, when stations in their area are changing channels and what steps they need to take to continue receiving local TV stations. “For the estimated 77 million Americans who rely on an antenna to watch local broadcast TV, they will need to ‘rescan’ their television sets after their local stations change channels,” the NAB notes.

While some viewers will need to rescan more than once, no new equipment or services are needed.

For viewers who subscribe to MVPD services, the transition is expected to be seamless.

“NAB is devoted to working with Congress, the FCC, the wireless industry and third-party groups to keep the public informed throughout this enormously challenging undertaking,” said NAB President/CEO Gordon Smith. “Broadcast TV remains Americans’ top source for local news, weather, community programming and emergency information. The broadcast industry is committed to ensuring no viewer is left without these services.”

NAB says will be rolling out more tools for local TV stations in the coming weeks, including talking points, sample scripts and crawls and even automated phone messaging.

In early 2018 it plans to roll out customizable spots for stations to use, as well as a video to help viewers understand how to rescan their TV sets.

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