100 Days of Analog

By Catherine M. Welch

Wilmington, NC – Television viewers in Wilmington North Carolina have about 100 days to adjust their sets to receive digital television broadcast signals.

The Federal Communications Commission tapped Wilmington to be its guinea pig months before the rest of the country goes digital, and is urging residents to be prepared.

The FCC says 7% of residents in and around Wilmington watch television the old-fashioned way - without cable or satellite.

And those are the viewers who will need a special converter box to receive any kind of signal on their sets.

To reach viewers riding out a hurricane without a converter, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin says broadcasters will be allowed to flip on an analog signal.

"You wouldn't be able to provide the same entertainment programming, you're not going to get the network programming, for example, but they will still be providing emergency information to them."

Wilmington's television goes digital September 8th, the rest of the country follows February 18th.

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