The campaign being conducted by the Maine Public Broadcasting Network which is designed to win voter support for a $9.4 million bond issue is coming to an end. MPBN has been telling voters and its members that MPBN will lose its broadcast license in 2003 if voters do not vote for this bond, and that the existing analog TV signals will disappear in 2006. In the process, you can see Big Bird’s beak getting longer and longer by the minute.

By placing so much emphasis on the possible shutdown of MPBN in TV ads and in literature mailed directly to MPBN members, MPBN is abandoning one of its primary missions: to adequately inform voters in an unbiased manner about important state issues. Any sense of objectivity and balance is missing from this campaign. This opens the door to a question about how high a price MPBN has been willing to pay to accomplish the task at hand.

Will MPBN lose its broadcast license in 2003? Will all the existing TV sets have to be carried to the dump in 2006? The answer to both questions is no. In November, for example, approximately 120 TV stations in the 30 largest TV markets are supposed to have their digital TV signals up and running as well. Are all these stations going to meet this deadline? Wait and see. Will any stations lose their broadcast licenses if they miss this Nov. 1 deadline? This seems doubtful. And what will happen to the existing analog TV signals in all these markets? Nothing. It is business as usual, and it will remain that way for years to come, and perhaps well beyond 2006.

In 2006, once 85 percent of the households in a given market have adopted digital TV hardware, there is a possibility that the existing analog TV signals in that market might be terminated. Other factors play into this. This is a consumer-driven phenomenon, and MPBN is diverting voters’ attention away from this 85 per cent rule. In this regard, MPBN’s advertisements and direct mailings are misleading, almost falling into the category of scare tactics.

No attempt is being made to needlessly herd anxious consumers into the digital TV realm as MPBN suggests. The emphasis has always been on serving the public interest during an extremely complicated and unprecedented migration to digital technology.

MPBN is creating a confrontational atmosphere to suit its own purposes. MPBN paints a disturbing picture of an aggressive FCC poised to pounce. As the federal agency charged with overseeing this nation’s airwaves, the FCC is probably prepared to do anything in its power to ensure that all the public broadcasting resources in Maine which have been bought and paid for at considerable taxpayer expense are accessible to Maine TV viewers for years to come, regardless of how Maine voters proceed on Nov. 2.

In early 1999, when MPBN aired a one hour call-in program on digital television issues, and callers expressed a variety of concerns about what was going to happen. What was a surprise that night was how few callers voiced any support for this transition to digital TV. Among other things, callers questioned what was perceived to be another unfunded federal mandate. The impact of additional transmission towers and MPBN TV signal reception were also addressed.

In the months following this particular call-in program, MPBN shelved this idea of more live, interactive TV shows on this subject despite the fact that Maine voters had few other sources for such information. MPBN has not done an adequate job of conveying the essential value of whatever lies at the core of this $9.4 million bond and $20 million project.

What will be the impact of this transition to digital TV on MPBN’s annual operating costs? Digital TV technology opens the door to lots of automation, and so what will be the impact on MPBN’s staff? Why does all this talk about a fairly rapid transition to digital TV seem to overlook the fact that most consumers have two or even three TVs? How will MPBN’s statewide coverage be impacted? Will consumers need to purchase and install new TV antennas? What role does cable and satellite TV play in this process? Given the price of high definition TV sets, why does MPBN continue to place so much emphasis on HDTV in primetime?

These are just some of the questions which remain unanswered. MPBN will not disappear if voters do not approve this bond. And yet, if Maine voters go ahead and approve this request for $9.4 million, MPBN should set aside a little money to fund the needed cosmetic surgery on Big Bird’s beak.

Peter J. Brown is a contributing editor for Digital Television magazine. He lives in Mount Desert.