May 7 Satellite Feed

On Thursday, May 7 at 12:45 p.m. (EDT), the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) will distribute new DTV Action spots, as well as redistribute the content-specific spots addressing areas of concern and the new 30-minute DTV educational program.

The new "How to Upgrade" spots highlight the process of how to successfully upgrade to digital television. They are available in both 30- and 60-second versions, however, they should not replace the spots already running that specifically address the issues of antennas, rescanning and help centers. They are optional additions to station rotations.

Following the new "How to Upgrade" spots, there will be a series of "Countdown" spots, each 15 seconds in duration, that mark the time frame remaining before the transition date. These will include a spot to run three weeks, two weeks, seven days, six days, five days, four days, three days, two days and less than 24 hours out. Please note the corresponding dates on the slates. Those dates will also be listed in the downloadable format sheet at www.dtvanswers.com/formats. These "Countdown" spots are optional and cannot be used to comply with the 60-day countdown requirement. However, NAB recommends running these "Countdown" spots in conjunction with either the 15-second or 30-second version of the "Rescanning" spot for the final two weeks of the campaign. *Note: Graphic displays that can be used to meet the FCC's 60-day countdown requirement are available to download at www.dtvanswers.com/countdown.

After the "Countdown" spots, NAB will redistribute the three content-specific DTV Action spots that discuss the importance of antennas, hooking up a converter box and rescanning, that were previously delivered in late March/early April. All three spots include 15-second versions as well as two 25/5-second taggable versions, one with the June 12 date and one without a date reference. The rescanning spot will meet one of the consumer education requirements passed by the FCC.

Following the new and redistributed DTV Action spots, NAB will also redistribute the new 30-minute educational program for stations that have not yet terminated analog transmissions. This program, "Countdown to DTV: Are You Ready?" reviews all the steps that antenna TV viewers must take in order to upgrade to digital.

To comply with FCC requirements, stations under Option 2 (NAB Plan) must, after April 1, 2009 and before the station terminates analog, air at least one 30-minute informational program between 8 a.m. and 11:35 p.m. The video must contain certain local information and for stations affected, service loss information.

Every station must add information to this program concerning the date and approximate time of day when all full-power stations in the market are terminating analog service. At the end of the first segment, there is a marked break for stations to insert this information.

Every station with predicted service loss greater than two percent must add service loss information to this program consistent with information contained in the station's daily required airing of loss of service notices. Following the run of the entire program, there is an additional closing segment that applies only to these affected stations. This alternate ending includes an insert to include service loss information.

There is not a format/timing sheet available for this program. The show itself runs approximately 23 minutes, without commercials and station-inserted information. Because of the marked break(s) for stations to include local information (they can run as long as determined necessary) and for commercials, stations will need to time out themselves.

The program is closed captioned, however, stations are responsible for captioning their own inserted portions. A script for the show is available at www.dtvanswers.com/educationalprogram.

The program is only available in standard definition, formatted in 4:3.

Feed Rundown:

Test Period: 1245 - 1300 EDT
DTV Action Spots: 1300 - 1330 EDT

  • NEW "How to Upgrade" spots
  • NEW "Countdown" spots
  • "Antenna", "Converter Box" and "Re-scanning" spots

English Version – 30 Minute Program: 1330 (approx.) - 1400 EDT
Spanish Version – 30 Minute Program: 1400 - 1430 EDT

A format sheet for the feed will be available on May 7 at www.dtvanswers.com/formats.

Analog Feed:

  • Date: May 7, 2009
    Time: 1245-1430 EDT
    Satellite: Galaxy 19 (C-Band)
    Transponder: 15C
    Location: 97 degrees West
    Uplink Frequency: 6225 H
    Downlink Frequency: 4000 V
    Polarity: Vertical
    Audio: 6.2/6.8 - Stereo Full-Mix

Digital Feed:

  • Date: May 7, 2009
    Time: 1245-1430 EDT
    Satellite: Galaxy 17 (KU-Band)
    Transponder: 15K, Slot A
    Bandwidth: 9 MHz
    Location: 91 degrees West
    Uplink Frequency: 14286.5 V
    Downlink Frequency: 11986.5 H
    Polarity: Horizontal
    Symbol Rate: 6.1113
    FEC: 3/4

For any technical problems during the feed, contact the Crawford TOC at (678) 421-6604

The program is closed captioned, however, stations are responsible for captioning their own inserted portions.

Scripts for the 30-minute program are available at www.dtvanswers.com/educationalprogram.