Below is Rep. Markey’s opening statement:

Happy Halloween. In a little over a year, millions of American consumers will find out if the digital television transition is a trick or a treat. Will stores trick them into buying equipment they don't need? In February 2009 will they see their screens summarily turn as black as a Halloween cat? Will they long for their old analog signal, even with its friendly ghosting?

Or conversely, will it be a wonderful treat? Will it be a bagful full of digital delights - including the eye candy of a better, pristine picture, breathtaking high definition programming, or perhaps multiple streams of new services and channels?

Nothing is scarier this Halloween than the prospect of millions of consumers disillusioned and upset with a government-mandated transition that has gone awry. For this reason we are holding today yet another digital television oversight hearing. We obtained testimony just two weeks ago from consumer groups, the Chairman of the FCC, the head of NTIA, as well as important testimony from the GAO about the status of the transition and suggestions for improvements.

Today, we have an expert panel of industry stakeholders to inform the Subcommittee about their perspective of the transition with just over a year to go prior to the hard date, and just two months before the government converter box coupon program begins.

There are several issues that still need to be resolved or clarified, including when NTIA will issue coupons to consumers, when coupon eligible converter boxes be available in all markets to all consumers, how effective consumer education proposals will be, will industry be able to implement the technical changes needed to make the switch from analog to digital, when will the FCC issue such final technical rules, the digital satellite carriage of public television stations, and many others.

I want to thank the witnesses for their willingness to testify today and sincerely hope none of them begin by saying “boo!”