McSlarrow: Retrans Uncertainty Creates Cable 'Storm'

Kyle McSlarrow of NC&TADespite some positive response to the TV industry's continuing change to digital from analog signals, the cable industry says some bad weather is coming, which will leave consumers looking for shelter.

Kyle McSlarrow, president/CEO of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, said on Tuesday during a panel of the House Energy & Commerce Committee that "a storm is coming."

He says the digital changeover coming in February 2009 is complicated by the fact that at the end of this year, many retransmission agreements between TV stations and cable operators will expire. That means in the tussle of negotiation, he feels that some TV stations will be temporarily--or in the long term--tossed off the air around the first of the year.

McSlarrow warned the committee that the digital changeover still has deep problems--and that consumers should be better informed.

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Some of that message was echoed by the Federal Communications Commission chairman Kevin Martin, who said consumers need more time and more information on the digital change. Martin said these were some of the results gathered after last week's total market changeover to digital TV signals in the Wilmington, N.C. market.

Martin now estimates that 15% of U.S. TV stations could be severely affected by the changeover next February, effectively losing a large part of their audience. Still, other Federal officials claim the Wilmington move to digital was a roaring success, since only 1% of TV homes called to complain.

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