DTV Education Initiative Effective Dates
This entry was posted on 3/31/2008 1:54 PM and is filed under Lee Petro,DTV Transition.
By Lee Petro
703-812-0453
email
As previously reported, the Commission adopted rules
requiring broadcasters, MVPDs and telecommunications carriers to engage in a
coordinated educational campaign regarding the DTV Transition.
The rules were to become effective once (a)
the FCC’s notice had been published in the Federal Register, (b) the Office of
Management and Budget had approved the new “information collection”
requirements, and (c) notice of the OMB’s approval had been published in the
Federal Register.
Those three events
have all occurred – the last occurring with the March 31 Federal Register
notice of OMB’s approval.
That Notice
indicates that: the rules become effective March 31; full power television
broadcasters must file new FCC Form 388 no later than April 10, 2008 (and
quarterly thereafter); and MVPD and eligible telecommunications carriers must
come into compliance with the rules on April 30, 2008.
In a footnote to the notice the Commission indicated that
reports filed on Form 388 – including the First Quarter report that is due no
later than April 10 – must include information on all consumer education
efforts that the broadcast station took during the first quarter, even if those
efforts were done on a voluntary basis.
Broadcasters should immediately begin to prepare summaries of the DTV education
efforts they made during the first quarter of 2008 – including PSAs and other
announcements made on-air regarding the DTV Transition, as well as notices
placed on the station’s website (if applicable).
While the new rules and the new reporting requirement are
now effective, the new form (FCC Form 388) to use to meet that requirement is
not yet available for submission. A
check on the FCC’s website on March 31 revealed that the Form is not yet
effective, and as of 2:00 p.m. it was still not available on CDBS. We will continue to look out for the official
version of the FCC Form 388 and post a brief notice when the form is available
for use.
