In recent weeks, Low Power Television stations have been the center of attention in Washington in connection with the Digital television transition. While all full-power television stations are set to convert to digital operations less than a year from now, ceasing analog operations at the end of the day on February 17, 2009, there is no specific deadline for LPTV stations to convert to digital. As the NTIA rolls out its coupon program for the purchase of converter boxes that will take digital signals of over-the-air television stations and convert them to analog for those who do not have digital television receivers (see our summary here), LPTV advocates noted that many converters do not pass through analog signals.

DMW’s CEO & Publisher provides a wrap-up of the top stories of the week. Who’s hot, who’s not and what’s the industry buzz?

In my column last week, I predicted that there may be a silver lining in Yahoo’s recent troubles and low share price in the form of a possible takeover bid from rival Microsoft. Voilà! In a bold move that sent ripples through Silicon Valley before sunrise on Friday, Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) announced that it has made an unsolicited $44.6 billion takeover bid

The FCC has announced that on January 24 it will begin a new round of testing of wireless devices that will work in that part of the communications spectrum currently reserved for television station operation. The idea, about which we wrote here, would be that these devices could operate at low power, on channels not used by television stations in a particular market (the so-called "white spaces"), without creating interference to television stations. Proponents (mostly tech and computer companies) claim that these low power devices could be used for wireless broadband and other communications devices, while opponents (principally television broadcasters, but also and wireless microphone companies which operate in the television spectrum) fear that the devices, when released into an unregulated, real-world environment, will create damaging interference to the new digital television operations that begin in February 2009. The Commission's tests will attempt to resolve this controversy.

On the last day of 2007, the FCC released a 108 page order detailing its rules for the final stages of the transition of US full power television stations from analog to digital, a transition that is to be completed in less than 14 months. The Third Periodic Review, as the order is titled, covers in detail the timing of required construction of the final facilities for each full power television station, as well as various details on other transition issues. While we will prepare a more detailed summary of the order, some of the more significant issues that the Commission addressed include the following: