Boston TV broadcasters have banded together for one of the most aggressive market-wide DTV-education events yet, tomorrow (Tuesday, Dec. 9).
The Massachusetts Broadcasters Association is calling the day “the most comprehensive, informational, and far-reaching readiness test in the country.”
From 5 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., all media outlets will provide the same DTV readiness information in English and/or in Spanish on crawls airing on all stations. In a move beyond previous tests, the crawls will direct viewers to WGBH-TV (PBS), to check if their sets are ready.
WGBH will repeatedly run a 30-minute program, “Get Ready for Digital TV,” featuring “This Old House” hosts Norm Abram and Kevin O'Connor visiting Boston-area homes and giving hands-on guidance for checking TV sets for digital readiness. The program will be in English and Spanish.
(Viewers whose sets are digital ready will see WGBH-TV's regular program line-up.)
Also, all the over-the-air outlets will conduct three, 2-minute “Virtual Shutdown” readiness tests, at 5:15 a.m., 6:15 a.m., 5:15 p.m.
The event follows a busy week in analog shut-offs, in which the New York, Los Angeles, Dallas-Fort Worth and Hartford markets all interrupted programming for DTV messages.
Participating facilities in the Boston market are:
WBZ-TV (CBS) WUNI-TV (Univision)
WBPX-TV (ION Media Networks) WUTF-TV (Telefutura)
WCVB-TV (ABC) WWDP-TV (Shop NBC)
WDPX-TV (ION Media Networks) Beld Broadband
WFXT-TV (FOX) Charter Communications
WGBH-TV (PBS) Comcast
WGBX-TV (PBS) Duncan Cable
WHDH-TV (NBC) MetroCast
WLVI-TV (CW) RCN
WMFP-TV (MTBI) Southern VT Cable
WNEU-TV (Telemundo) TDS Cable
WPXG-TV (ION Media Networks) Time Warner
WSBK-TV (IND) Verizon
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