Yesterday, Dec. 2, representatives from the National Association of Broadcasters and the National Black Church Initiative (NBCI) hosted a press conference to announce their partnership to educate Washington, D.C., residents about the digital television transition.

The press conference is part of a widespread initiative to help local residents prepare for the Feb. 17, 2009, switch to digital TV. One hundred churches across Washington received educational literature about the DTV transition to be distributed through their church bulletins and NAB staff members addressed the congregations of four churches in the city's Wards 7 and 8.

"We are tremendously excited about this opportunity to work with local, black churches in Washington, D.C., so that the consumers most affected by the DTV transition are able to learn the facts," said Marcellus Alexander, executive vice president of television at NAB. "It is critical that we work together to ensure no consumer is left behind due to a lack of information about the transition to digital television."

"The National Black Church Initiative is honored to be a part of this historic campaign," said Rev. Anthony Evans, president of NBCI. "We are going to do everything in our power to reach out to and help educate all minority communities about this big switch to digital television. This initiative in Washington, D.C., demonstrates our commitment to working with NAB to get the word out to the African-American community."

The NAB/NBCI church initiative is a pilot program that may be implemented nationwide as part of the NAB's multiplatform, multifaceted marketing campaign. The program complements a variety of other initiatives undertaken by broadcasters to educate consumers about the nation's switch to digital broadcasting.

By law, all U.S. full-power TV stations must turn off their analog signals on Feb. 17, 2009, and begin broadcasting exclusively in a digital format. Recent studies have shown that the transition to digital television will disproportionately affect minority communities, including the elderly and African-Americans.

"I want to commend NAB and NBCI for taking the lead to educate our city's residents about the DTV transition," said Eric E. Richardson, director of the District Of Columbia Office of Cable Television. "More than 20 percent of households in D.C. rely on free, over-the-air broadcasting exclusively, so it is essential that they get the information they need to prepare for the transition to digital."