John Rossi, general manager of CW-affiliate KOCB and Fox affiliate KOKH in Oklahoma City, said he was feeling tired today after his station fielded nearly 900 calls over the past two days regarding his stations’ switch to digital TV signals.
That sum far exceeded the call volume at stations in most markets, according to the National Association of Broadcasters, which put the standard station average of calls between 50 and 200.
For TVWeek’s comprehensive coverage of the digital television transition, visit the DTV Switch Navigator page.
Oklahoma City is the 45th largest market in the United States.
Mr. Rossi said his stations, which switched at 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, were fielding calls before their transition, as the CBS and PBS affiliates in the market made their move at 1 p.m.
A majority of the calls were from callers needing to re-scan their analog-to-digital converter boxes for the CBS and PBS affiliates, he said.
Mr. Rossi said the number of calls has significantly decreased today to around 150.
Based on his experience, Mr. Rossi said he was unsure how the rest of the country would fare when all stations are required to switch to digital signals in June. He said he hoped everyone who hadn’t made themselves ready for the switch would prepare in the next couple months.
(Editor: Baumann)