NEW YORK—When Hurricane Dorian approached the Southeastern U.S. in early September, residents from the communities in its path overwhelmingly turned to their local TV stations to find out the latest news about the storm. This was a key finding of the “Hurricane Dorian Media Usage Study” conducted by Dynata and commissioned by the TVB trade association.

Speaking with 861 people in Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia from Sept. 3-5, 84% of the respondents said they used TV station news to get the latest information on the hurricane and spent an average of three hours and 24 minutes watching local broadcast TV, more than twice the amount of time for network TV and social media. Local TV was also the top choice for 75% of respondents when it came to preparing for the severe weather.

And finally, 94% agreed that local news TV was the most trusted source of information regarding Dorian, with TV stations news websites and apps being the second most at 88%; social media was least trusted at 57%.

“Local communities continue to rely on their local broadcast TV stations to deliver up-to-the-minute and potentially life-saving coverage in times of emergency,” said Steve Lanzano, TVB president and CEO. “Data from the ‘Hurricane Dorian Media Usage Study’ revealed that local communities overwhelmingly chose TV station news over all other resources to deliver the most accurate weather coverage and critical safety information they need.”

The full report on Hurricane Dorian coverage can be found here.

WASHINGTON--The FCC is extending its disaster data collection to additional counties in Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina for Hurricane Dorian.

The Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB) of the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) had announced the activation of the Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS) in response to Hurricane Dorian on Sept. 2. DIRS is a voluntary, web-based system that communications providers, including wireless, wireline, broadcast, cable and Voice over Internet Protocol providers, can use to report communications infrastructure status and situational awareness information during times of crisis.

The Commission requests that communications providers that provide service to any areas listed below expeditiously submit and update information through DIRS regarding, inter alia, the status of their communications equipment, restoration efforts, and power (i.e., whether they are using commercial power or back-up power). Communications providers can accomplish this by accessing DIRS at https://www.fcc.gov/nors/disaster/. Providers that have not previously done so will be asked to first provide contact information and obtain a User ID when they access DIRS. There is a link on the login page that will allow them to obtain a User ID and password. If a user does not remember his/her password, he/she should use the forgotten password link on the login page.

Communications providers are reminded that for providers that participate in DIRS, the separate Network Outage Reporting System (NORS) obligations are suspended for the duration of the DIRS activation with respect to outages in the counties/municipalities where DIRS has been activated. Reports are requested beginning at 10:00 a.m. on September 5, 2019, and every day after that by 10:00 a.m. until DIRS is deactivated.

Communications providers that serve an area listed below and that have already provided contact information in DIRS will be sent an e-mail requesting that they provide the above-referenced status information through DIRS. For any communications providers that have not already logged onto DIRS to input their contact information, the Commission encourages them to do so as soon as possible.

COUNTIES OF INTEREST FOR THIS ACTIVATION INCLUDE:

Florida: Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Brevard, Broward, Charlotte, Clay, Collier, Desoto, Duval, Flagler, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, Indian River, Lake, Lee, Marion, Martin, Miami-Dade, Nassau, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Polk, Putnam, Seminole, St. Johns, St. Lucie, Sumter, Union and Volusia

Georgia: Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Brantley, Bryan, Bulloch, Burke, Camden, Candler, Charlton, Chatham, Clinch, Coffee, Echols, Effingham, Emanuel, Evans, Glynn, Jeff Davis, Jenkins, Liberty, Long, Mcintosh, Montgomery, Pierce, Richmond, Screven, Tattnall, Telfair, Toombs, Ware, Wayne, and Wheeler

South Carolina: Aiken, Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Beaufort, Berkeley, Calhoun, Charleston, Clarendon, Colleton, Darlington, Dillon, Dorchester, Florence, Georgetown, Hampton, Horry, Jasper, Lee, Lexington, Marion, Marlboro, Orangeburg, Richland, Sumter, and Williamsburg

North Carolina: Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, Brunswick, Camden, Carteret, Chowan, Columbus, Craven, Cumberland, Currituck, Dare, Duplin, Edgecombe, Gates, Greene, Halifax, Hertford, Hoke, Hyde, Johnston, Jones, Lenoir, Martin, New Hanover, Onslow, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Pender, Perquimans, Pitt, Robeson, Sampson, Scotland, Tyrrell, Washington, Wayne, and Wilson

WASHINGTON—With Hurricane Dorian threatening multiple states in the southeast, the Incentive Auction Task Force and Media Bureau have announced that the completion date for phase 5 of the repack has been extended from its original date of Sept. 6 to Sept. 11 at 11:59 p.m.

“There remains considerable uncertainty about the future path of the storm and therefore its implications for the completion of construction projects related to the transition, but we are mindful that phase 5 includes a significant number of stations in areas that may be affected by the storm, including North and South Carolina,” the public notice reads. It was also determined that because many of the stations potentially affected by the storm may provide critical information to its viewers, requiring them to rescan their TVs during this time was not prudent.

Despite the extension, the Media Bureau asks that stations not impacted by Hurricane Dorian continue on their previous schedule for phase 5 and complete their transition by Sept. 6. There will still be the option for stations to adjust their transition schedule on a case-by-case basis.

There are no further plans to amend any other start or completion dates for other phases, but the FCC will continue to monitor the storm and make any changes if warranted. 

For more news and insight on the repack, visit TV Technology'srepack silo.

WASHINGTON—As residents of the southeastern U.S. wonder whether Hurricane Dorian will affect their area, the FCC has activated its Disaster Information Reporting system for 35 counties all along the east and southern coast of Florida.

DIRS is a voluntary, web-based system for communications providers including wireless, wireline, broadcast, cable and VoIP providers to report infrastructure status and situational awareness during emergencies.

The FCC initiated its DIR for Puerto Rico last week when it was anticipated that Hurricane Dorian—now a Category 3 hurricane—would hit the islands. Dorian instead made a beeline for the Bahamas where it remained stationary for the past 24 hours. The storm is now approximately 100 miles west of the Florida coast and is anticipated to make a northward move and skirt the southeastern U.S. this week.

The counties include: Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Brevard, Broward, Charlotte, Clay, Collier, Desoto, Duval, Flagler, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, Indian River, Lake, Lee, Marion, Martin, Miami-Dade, Nassau, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Polk, Putnam, Seminole, St. Johns, St. Lucie, Sumter, Union and Volusia.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai issued a statement on Monday on the commission's efforts to help communications providers weather the storm. 

“As Hurricane Dorian comes closer to the southeast coast, the FCC has been working throughout the weekend to finalize preparations for the storm and coordinate with our federal and state partners," Pai said. "Our staff has reached out to wireless carriers and broadcasters to offer assistance. With our government partners, including FEMA, we have worked to ensure that communications providers and power companies closely coordinate their activities as needed when service restoration efforts get underway—making sure they implement lessons learned from Hurricane Michael. And we have reminded wireless carriers of the need to have roaming agreements in place before the storm hits.

“Additionally, FCC staff have been deployed to conduct ‘pre-landfall’ surveys of the radiofrequency spectrum in projected impact areas, which will help us identify any impacts to public safety communications and broadcaster outages," Pai added. "We have activated our Disaster Information Reporting System to collect and report information on the status of communications services. And as always, our Operations Center is open 24 hours a day to assist first responders and communications providers. To those who could be in the storm’s path, please heed the advice of local officials and stay safe.”

The FCC added that it may add more areas to the DIR list depending on the movement of the storm.

Communications providers can access the DIRS at https://www.fcc.gov/nors/disaster/. Reports are requests beginning at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 3 and every day after that by 10:00 a.m.