Broadcasters should stop focusing on the door that's closing—analog TV transmission—and put all their effort into the one that's opening for them—digital broadcasting. That was the message delivered by President David Rehr as he kicked off the 2008 NAB Show in Las Vegas Monday morning.

“This may be the last opportunity I have to speak with many of you before full-power television stops broadcasting in analog,” he said. “It is truly an end of an era.

“The transition to DTV is NAB's highest television priority. Every broadcast network and television station is participating in a campaign that includes on-air, online and various media and grassroots initiatives. Television stations, networks and NAB are making a billion dollar commitment to DTV transition education. We are working together in an unprecedented effort to ensure every American is aware of the transition and knows how to take action.

“We anticipate that each household will be exposed to a DTV message at least 642 times before February. Spots like this one are running in every market around the country.

“We will leave no TV set behind. And many of us believe there will be a renaissance of over the air viewing with crystal clear pictures, phenomenal sound and more channels and services. And it's free—the way TV should be. Not to mention, HDTV—the jewel of digital broadcasting.”

Then Rehr talked about the other new opportunities digital will provide broadcasters. “NAB is aggressively moving to get digital TV on cell phones, iPods, TV screens in cars, portable video players, laptop computers and more.

“That's live TV on upwards of 345 million devices. That's your favorite morning show live on your handheld device on the bus to work.That's the baseball game keeping your boys quiet in the back seat of the car. That's not missing a college basketball game during March Madness, because you can catch it on your cell phone.

“By 2012, only four years away, three years after the transition itself, broadcast television could earn an estimated additional $2 billion a year in revenues from mobile video alone. But first, we have to get a single industry standard adopted and the technology deployed. NAB is moving full steam ahead.

“We've put dollars into action with the Open Mobile Video Coalition and the NAB's technology advocacy program, FASTROAD. Both of these efforts are committed to move television beyond the family room to everywhere viewers are.”

The NAB president talked of embracing the Internet: “The majority of U.S. homes have a broadband connection. An increasing number of consumers are watching TV shows online. There are great new revenue opportunities to be seized. And many of our stations and networks are already taking advantage of this. As I heard someone in our business say recently, we must begin to make the Internet part of our DNA.

“There is an explosion of content out there and we have to be smart and nimble about how we deliver it to our consumers. After all, broadcasters' content is still the best.

As we move into the digital future, there will only be more possibilities … more opportunities … more revenue streams on the horizon.”

He recapped the association's lobbying activities in Washington that, in addition to the DTV transition, included unlicensed devices operating in TV white spaces and the proposed new FCC localism requirements.

This new digital era, Rehr said, gives broadcasters “an opportunity to reinvent our business. But we can't accomplish change without hope and a renewed spirit. We must embrace our digital future and all the possibilities that come with it. We must aggressively promote this great broadcast medium of the future.”