What does it mean when analog television is shut down and nobody calls to complain?
That question is the reason for a second soft test Sept. 2, in Wilmington, NC. The market will become the first in the nation to fully shut down all analog broadcasting on Sept. 8.
Four stations in the previous test on Aug. 19 shut down for one minute to allow viewers to see if they were or were not digitally connected. The result was not a single phone call.
The second test, set for 7:30 p.m., will run for a full five minutes and feature larger type and a constantly displayed phone number.
According to a poll released by the National Association of Broadcasters (conducted August 12-18), 97 percent of households in the Wilmington television market said they had “seen, read or heard” about the industry's conversion to digital television. In a May 2008 survey, that number was at 89 percent.
