• Broadcasting & Cable, Friday, June 8, 2007 11:15 AM

The Federal Communications Commission has warned a handful of retailers, including K-Mart, Best Buy, Circuit City and Radio Shack, that they need to start warning customers about analog sets not working after broadcasting goes all digital in 2009. And if they don't heed, they face an $11,000-per-day fine, up to $97,000.

The warning, either on or in close proximity to the sets, should read: "This television receiver has only an analog broadcast tuner and will require a converter box after February 17, 2009 to receive over-the-air broadcasts with an antenna because of the nation's transition to digital broadcasting. Analog-only TVs should continue to work as before with cable and satellite TV services, gaming consoles, VCRs, DVD players, and similar products."

It also gives the FCC's phone number and Web site. As of May 25, retailers were required to tell potential buyers of the limitations on analog sets but enforcement bureau staffers found that many "did not have the proper Consumer Alert label displayed on equipment that contained an analog tuner but not a digital tuner." While "official citations" for the omissions were from DC, field inspections and citations--hundreds of them--for in-store lapses are also coming along.

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