WHQR: Wilmington Makes the DTV Switch (2008-09-07)

Local Interest

Wilmington Makes the DTV Switch

Catherine M. Welch (2008-09-07)

WILMINGTON, NC (whqr) - At noon today Wilmington television stations will shut off their analog signals making the city the nation's first television market to broadcast in digital.

The Federal Communications Commission announced in May that Wilmington volunteered to make the switch.

So all summer the FCC, broadcasters and retail outlets hit the streets telling viewers that they'll need a converter box to get a picture if they don't have cable or satellite.

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin says Wilmington viewers have heeded the call.

"I think that both the residents in Wilmington and the broadcasters in Wilmington have done an extraordinary job in trying to make sure everyone's as prepared as possible."

Martin says the FCC will apply lessons learned from Wilmington's digital switch for the nation's big switch in February.

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