CEA Helps Consumers Shift To Digital Television

Comments Filed with FCC Highlight DTV Consumer Education Website "myCEknowhow.com"

December 5, 2006

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA(R)) continues to work to educate American consumers about the digital television (DTV) transition. As part of its comments filed in the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Notice of Inquiry (NOI) requesting information on the status of competition in the market for the delivery of video services, CEA discussed the many new options consumers have for accessing video programming and also provided information on its most recent efforts to educate consumers on the country's transition from analog to digital broadcasting. "CEA continues to focus on educating and promoting the DTV transition, most recently through the launch of the DTV information and buying guide on our consumer website myCEknowhow.com," said Gary Shapiro, CEA president and CEO. "CEA is actively engaged with broadcasters, cable operators, public interest groups and other stakeholders to build coalitions for communications related to the DTV transition." CEA maintains five websites focusing on consumer and retailer education. In collaboration with CNET, a DTV buying guide was launched on "myCEknowhow.com" in October 2006 and is featured on AOL's Digital Lifestyle Channel. The guide is designed to introduce consumers to the digital television transition in order to ease confusion about the technology before shoppers even enter the store. Other CEA educational efforts include a voluntary labeling program for analog sets, syndicated press articles, a retailer tip sheet, an HD satellite media tour (SMT), and other ongoing initiatives. "Consumers are embracing and enjoying all the qualities of digital television. The transition to digital has been advanced in large part thanks to successful consumer equipment sales and an increase in the number of HDTV channels offered by cable and satellite providers," said Shapiro. According to recent data, approximately 30 percent of households are expected to tune in to digital broadcasts by the end of 2006, an increase of nearly 16 percentage points over the previous year. Further, sales data indicates that Americans are adopting digital televisions at an increasingly fast rate, with DTVs expected to outsell analog sets by 66 percent in 2006. The price of digital televisions continues to fall with the average retail price expected to be $819 in 2007, a $224 drop from 2006. Today, consumers can access video programming from a variety of sources, including the Internet, wireless phones, video game consoles and IPTV services. Additionally, access to HD programming is continually growing, with content available through the major broadcast networks and carried through satellite, cable and telephone providers. Consumers will benefit from greater competition in the marketplace for video services. These benefits include lower prices and more service choices. About CEA: The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) is the preeminent trade association promoting growth in the consumer technology industry through technology policy, events, research, promotion and the fostering of business and strategic relationships. CEA represents more than 2,100 corporate members involved in the design, development, manufacturing, distribution and integration of audio, video, mobile electronics, wireless and landline communications, information technology, digital imaging, home networking, multimedia and accessory products, as well as related services that are sold through consumer channels. Combined, CEA's members account for more than $125 billion in annual sales. CEA's resources are available online at http://www.CE.org, the definitive source for information about the consumer electronics industry. CEA also sponsors and manages the International CES - Defining Tomorrow's Technology. All profits from CES are reinvested into industry services, including technical training and education, industry promotion, engineering standards development, market research and legislative advocacy.

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