DTV Transition Arrives in Wilmington, N.C.

The DTV Transition arrived five months early for the residents of Wilmington, N.C. — the city's TV market went digital at noon on September 8.

The city of Wilmington, which has five commerical stations and is the 135th-largest TV market in the United States, volunteered to be the first TV market to make the switch.

"Let's make history. First in flight. First in digital,'' Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo told the Los Angeles Times. "We're daggone proud of it."

The other 209 TV markets in the United States, of course, will start broadcasting digital signals on February 17, 2009.

About 7 percent of households in the Wilmington area rely on analog signals, according to the Myrtle Beach Sun News.

Michael Copps, commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), has been asking for feedback from the Wilmington residents.

"There is no substitute for real world experience," he says.

WECT TV 6 in Wilmington has already experienced some glitches, saying "at least a few of our viewers are struggling to see our signal."

Saffo and FCC chairman Kevin Martin flipped the symbolic switch at noon at City Hall.