**GAO-08-510**                      Published: Apr 30, 2008. Publicly Released: May 20, 2008.                  

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## Highlights

The Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005, requires all full-power television stations in the United States to cease analog broadcasting by February 17, 2009, known as the digital television (DTV) transition. Prior to the transition date, the television broadcast industry must take a series of actions to ensure that over-the-air programming will continue to be available to television households once the transition is complete. For example, broadcast stations must obtain, install, and test the necessary equipment needed to finalize their digital facilities, and some stations will need to coordinate the movement of channels on the day the analog signal ceases transmission. This requested report examines (1) the status of broadcast stations in transitioning to digital, (2) the extent to which broadcast stations are encountering issues, and (3) the actions the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has taken to guide broadcasters in the digital transition. To address these issues, GAO conducted a Web-based survey of full-power television broadcast stations. GAO surveyed 1,682 stations and obtained completed questionnaires from 1,122 stations, for a response rate of 66.7 percent. GAO also reviewed legal, agency, and industry documents and interviewed public, private, and other stakeholders. We provided FCC with a draft of this report, and FCC provided technical comments that we incorporated where appropriate.

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## Topics

Telecommunications

BroadcastingCable televisionCommercial televisionDigital broadcastingDigital televisionEquipment managementFacility constructionProgram evaluationProgram managementPublic televisionStrategic planningTelecommunications equipmentTelecommunications systemsTelevisionTelevision broadcastingProgram coordinationProgram goals or objectivesProgram implementation