WHQR: FCC's Hurricane Plan For DTV (2008-08-20)

Local Interest

FCC's Hurricane Plan For DTV

Catherine M. Welch (2008-08-20)

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin at a town hall meeting in Wilmington last May

WILMINGTON, NC (whqr) - The Federal Communications Commission is reminding television viewers in the Wilmington area that local stations will broadcast on analog signals if a hurricane hits after the digital conversion next month.

Wilmington stations will cut off their analog signals and broadcast only in digital at noon on September 8th.

The FCC says if a hurricane hits after the switch then stations will be allowed to broadcast emergency information to viewers who still have analog sets.

Wilmington is the first and only television market in the country to make the switch early.

The rest of the country switches over on February 17th. And once the entire country goes digital, none of the stations will be allowed to switch over to analog, even if there's an emergency.

FCC commissioners embark on an months-long educational tour of the country next week, which includes stops in Charlotte and Raleigh.

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